


Life in Technicolor Book 1

by leonhart_17



Series: Life in Technicolor [1]
Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-30
Updated: 2012-10-30
Packaged: 2017-11-17 09:08:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 56,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/549933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leonhart_17/pseuds/leonhart_17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A/U but still Grey's universe. Carefree, kick-ass surgeon Arizona Robbins' life is changed when she picks up a gorgeous Latina in a bar and goes home with her. At least, that's where it starts...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Arizona Robbins knew before she opened her eyes that she was naked. And by the feel of the cushions underneath her, naked on her couch. What the… Fuzzy memories started floating to the surface, a few snapping back into sharp focus when she opened her eyes to find a stunning (from behind at least) and equally naked woman on the floor beside her sofa. Olive skin over curves that were to die for, all topped off with seemingly endless waves of dark hair. And from what she was able to remember, freaking dynamite in bed. Not that they’d actually made it to the bed, judging by the state of her living room. Pillows were scattered around the floor as well as clothes and a few knick-knacks they’d managed to knock to the ground, books and candles and her mother’s favorite lamp that she was glad to see wasn’t broken.

A look at the clock over the mantle had her shooting up and looking for her clothes. She was late. And on her first day as an attending. Shit, shit, shit. Another look at the truly luscious ass that belonged to the woman on the floor and she had to pause, take a moment. Being late was completely worth it. And last night, more of it coming back to her as the haze of the hangover waned and the headache started to set in, had been the perfect way to celebrate her promotion. Tequila had sure as hell done her a favor the night before.

Just as she found her shirt and pulled it over her shoulders, her mystery woman stirred, sitting up and stretching. And behold, her front was even better than her back. She smiled sleepily as she stretched, looking around for her clothing, one hand tousling her hair.

“Hey.” Her voice was husky and positively the sexiest thing Arizona had ever heard. Except for that voice calling her name the night before. The memory of that was going to keep her distracted all day.

“Hey…” Arizona smiled, finding the Latina’s shirt on the back of the couch and tossing it to her. “Um…” She could remember exactly how this woman tasted, but her name was escaping her at the moment.

“Callie,” the brunette provided, a completely charming smile on her lips.

That triggered a memory and Arizona grinned, buttoning up her shirt. “Calliope.”

The pretty Latina grimaced, almost pouting. “I didn’t tell you that…”

Arizona laughed, sniffing lightly as she smelled coffee brewing. Thank God for automatic timers. “Not until after the fourth shot, but you did tell me.” A blush burned her cheeks and she bit her lip. “Said you wanted to hear me scream it.” And had she ever… Her throat was almost sore from screaming it.

Callie’s blush matched the blonde’s immediately, though her smile became smug. “Oh yeah. That was a good idea I had, even four drinks in.” She hummed in satisfaction, one eyebrow arching. “I’ve never heard my name like that before.” Her tongue darted out to lick her lips unconsciously. “It was hot.”

Hopping to her feet kept her from dive tackling Callie back onto the floor and ensuring that they both missed work - wherever Callie happened to work, that detail was escaping her as well at the moment. “Okay, well, I’m going to take a shower because I’m late to work and when I come back, you’re going to be gone.” She backpedaled blindly and tripped over a pair of jeans that had ended up at the base of the stairs.

Callie’s mouth opened to say something but Arizona was already running up the stairs. The hardwood floor was quickly cold on her bare ass so she stood up, stretching both arms up toward the ceiling. She hadn’t had much time to look around last night, entirely too wrapped up in (and later wrapped around) Arizona Robbins to notice the décor. Mildly put, it was a pastel explosion. So why was she smiling like an idiot? Pastel wasn’t her style. Actual colors, contrast, were her style. Still, she was standing in her hookup’s living room with a stupid smile on her face.

Finding her pants and panties, she hopped into them while heading toward the kitchen. A coffee pot was steaming on the counter and she helped herself to a cup, finding a row of cutesy, flowered travel mugs in the drying rack next to the sink. She rolled her eyes, but took one anyway. She knew where to return it to later. And she’d have an excuse to see the hot, hot, super hot blonde again. Overhead, she could hear the shower going.

The house was disheveled but empty when Arizona came downstairs, crouching to peek through the rails of the banister to ensure she was alone. Her jacket from the night before was thrown over the back of the couch and she shrugged into it while rushing toward the kitchen for some coffee. She spotted the missing cup after a second and frowned. That one was her favorite. There was no time to miss it, though. And if she was scouting down her favorite mug, she’d have to see the gorgeous brunette again. Her second favorite cup would have to do - there was no time for anything else before work. 

Pulling into her spot in the doctor’s parking lot, the classic 50’s T-bird parked next to her car got a moment’s pause from her. Her brother had taught her to appreciate a classic automobile and the steel blue convertible was beautiful. The tiny corner of her mind that wasn’t fully feeling her hangover wondered whose car it was. She’d have remembered seeing it in the lot before and no one she worked with had such good taste. Unfortunately, being late for rounds meant that she had no time to admire it. Pausing to appreciate an incredible naked ass was one thing, but a car was a risk she couldn’t take. The Head of Pediatrics, her boss, was a real bastard when he wanted to be. Which was most of the time.

The thought spurred her into action, kicking out the wheel of her heelie sneakers and coasting down the sidewalk to the building. The automatic door track meant she had to hop, the thick rubber mat stopping her wheels entirely and she reluctantly snapped them back up. Dr. Stark hated her preference for the wheeled shoes anyways. Thankfully, she had already put on scrubs at home so she wouldn’t have to make a detour to the attending’s locker room to change.

Miraculously, she caught her day’s residents at the nurses’ station. “Karev, has Stark been here yet?”

“Nah, you’re good, boss,” he said, giving her a smirk. “Looks like someone had a good night.” He handed over a stack of charts for her to distribute. Alex Karev was a resident two years behind her, his fifth year, and he’d been smart enough to choose her specialty. After some prompting from her, of course, and a promise to keep him off of Dr. Stark’s service as much as she could. It was an easy promise to make - it was toss up which of them Stark hated more: Arizona or Alex. It seemed to vary day-to-day.

“Nice of you to join us, Dr. Robbins.” A stern voice from behind her told her that today was her day to be in the shit lists.

“Awesome,” she muttered under her breath as she turned, glad that she’d been bouncing around on all of the Peds cases for the last week and was familiar with all but the new arrivals. Drinking and truly amazing sex had taken priority over prep work last night. “Dr. Stark, good morning!” She forced a phony smile, though she was sure he didn’t notice or care.

Robert Stark, Head of Pediatrics, was an uptight, by-the-book surgeon who did as little work as he could possibly get away with, delegating every task but surgery itself (and then only when the surgery was something that would boost his reputation, everything else was Arizona’s to perform) to his residents and attendings. His eyes were disdainful as he surveyed her, mouth tightening as he noticed her shoes. “Did you have something more important to do this morning than your job?” he asked, every word out of his mouth sounding superior. It drove her crazy.

“No sir,” Arizona answered dutifully, internally fuming. Excepting the hangover, she’d been having a good morning. That was blown to hell already. And she’d only been in the building five minutes.

“The ER paged. You’ve been requested to consult on an incoming trauma,” he told her, irrepressibly haughty.

“I’ll head that way,” she answered him, sighing in relief when he turned and walked away without another word. “Dr. Karev, if you’ll distribute the cases?”

He gave her a nod, smirking. “I got it.” He offered her a lab coat that she recognized as her own, the monkey patch on the chest identifying it more easily than her name would have. “Go on.”

Arizona swapped him the charts for her coat, giving him a grateful smile. “Thank you, Alex. You’re awesome.” She checked the time on her phone. “I’ll try and be quick, but you know what needs to get done until I can get back up here.”

“I got it,” he repeated, shifting the pile of folders in his arms and turning his attention to the waiting residents. “You know what goes where. Get to work, people.”

Arizona couldn’t help smiling as she skated toward the elevator. Karev talked tough but he had a good heart. And he was great with the kids. He still had some issues dealing with the parents, but she was working with him. He was going to kick ass someday. Especially since he had her helping him out.

The elevator was empty as she rode down to the Emergency Room floor, Arizona grateful to find a bottle of aspirin in her lab coat pocket. If she wasn’t a lesbian, she could kiss Alex sometimes. Tossing back four, she swallowed them dry, shaking her head furiously to try and clear it. In spite of the favor it had done her in the form of the curvy goddess she’d woken up to, tequila was not her friend at the moment.

She followed Owen Hunt’s deep voice to Trauma Room 1. He waved her in with a nod of greeting, smiling as he noticed her new dark blue scrubs. “Congratulations on the promotion, Dr. Robbins. You deserve it.”

“Thank you, Dr. Hunt. I heard we have a child incoming?” Tall, broad, bearded, and redheaded, Dr. Hunt was a trauma specialist who’d joined the staff at Seattle Grace after a long stint in the Army doing the exact same work, albeit with more gunshots and explosions. Superior tools and the fact that his mother lived across town hadn’t been enough to keep him around until he’d met Cristina Yang, a resident in the same year as Alex Karev, who was training to be a Cardiothoracic surgeon under Owen’s best friend, former Army buddy, and Seattle Grace’s Head of Cardio, Teddy Altman. Unfortunately for all involved, Teddy also had feelings for Owen that he’d been blind to until after he’d already been seeing Christina.

Thinking of her one night stand the night before, Arizona couldn’t help the grateful feeling in her chest that her life wasn’t as complicated as some of her friend’s lives.

“ETA five minutes if you want to meet the ambulance. Six year old girl fell out of a tree. The parents think she was about ten feet up when she slipped.” Arizona grimaced in sympathy. She’d climbed a tree or two herself growing up with her brother and a fall from that height could be wicked.

“Have you paged Neuro or Ortho?”

He sent her an amused smile over the edge of the chart he was prepping. “Yes. Dr. Shepherd is in surgery so he’ll check the head CT as soon as we have them and the new Ortho attending should be here any minute.” Owen handed over the chart as he finished his notations. “She’s a new hire from Miami, so if you could help her get the lay of the land, I know the Chief would appreciate it. He’s sending her down straight from Human Resources.”

“So much for a light first day,” Arizona commented, eyes scanning the chart. “Thanks Owen. I’m on it.”

“Thank you, Dr. Robbins.”

There was a row of waiting interns at the sliding doors to the ambulance bay and Arizona slid into place on the end of the line, not paying attention beyond her coffee cup and the throbbing headache she was waiting to fade from behind her eyes.

“Cute cup,” a familiar voice said from beside her, drawing Arizona’s eyes.

“Thanks.” The blonde blinked, startled, and did a quick double-take as she realized who was standing at her elbow. “You!” She looked around as though they were about to get caught at something. “What are you doing here?” Her gaze narrowed at the coffee mug in the other woman’s hand. Her coffee mug, as a matter of fact. “Besides returning my favorite cup?”

Callie just smirked, taking a long sip. “Thanks for the loan. And I’m a doctor here.”

Her outfit, dark blue scrubs and lab coat with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows (sexy, her subconscious reminded her), sunk through Arizona’s distracted mind and she gaped. “You’re a doctor here? Since when?” She was sure she’d have noticed this woman around.

The brunette just shrugged, smirking sideways at her. “Since about half an hour ago. This case saved me from a day of paperwork.” Arizona looked flabbergasted and Callie leaned over to whisper in her ear. “You were a little wasted. I don’t blame you for not remembering.” She rocked back on her heels, pleased smile on her lips. “You still remember my name though, right?”

“Calliope,” Arizona whispered, blushing uncharacteristically. There was something about this woman that affected her. She’d written it off to an effect of the tequila, but she was stone sober now and she could still feel the tremor in her gut. “You’re the new Ortho attending,” she realized out loud. “I’m supposed to show you the ropes, Calliope.”

Callie grimaced, looking around to see if anyone was listening. “Less of that around here, please,” she requested. “Callie is fine. Only my dad calls me Calliope.”

“That’s a shame,” Arizona said genuinely, both of them able to hear the ambulance sirens in the distance. “It’s a beautiful name.” She let her eyes rake the Latina’s form. “It suits you.”

Biting back another pleased smile, Callie nudged her with an elbow. “So, anyway… Last night was…”

“Last night was awesome,” agreed Arizona, happily finishing off the statement for her.

Callie took another sip of her coffee, scuffing her sneaker along the concrete. “Any chance it could happen again? Say, Friday night?”

Arizona raised both eyebrows, a slow smile growing on her face, but before she could answer the ambulance squealed into the bay. “Saved by the siren,” she teased, pushing the chart into Callie’s chest as she backed toward the vehicle.

The little girl was crying as they wheeled her inside and it sobered both of their flirty moods. Just in time as far as Arizona was concerned. She was a damn good surgeon and a dedicated professional. Flirting with a fellow doctor at work, especially one she’d woken up with this morning, was not something she would let herself become known for. For one thing, it was sure to get back to Stark and drive his opinion of her even further down. But on the other hand, Calliope was very hot. And between her passion last night and her apparently continued interest, it seemed like she had a shot if she wanted it.

She wanted it very much.

Nothing could happen at work, though. They were both new attendings. They had to keep their professional lives professional.

Arizona forced herself to repeat the mantra as she went to work, though it became very difficult when Callie flashed her a sliver of a smile over the bed. She blinked and it was gone again, hidden behind a mask of stark professionalism.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And who knew who she might run into in this place. There was one perky blonde surgeon she knew she wouldn't mind running into. Not that she was looking for her. Or fixing her hair on the off-chance that Arizona showed up. Nope. She definitely wasn't doing that.

By the time she was walking into Joe’s Friday night, Callie was exhausted. She and Arizona hasn’t passed out until after three (God, but that woman was energetic) and the hangover had meant she was dragging most of her first day. Finishing up her paperwork and a fresh caseload had burned up the last two days of the week. And Friday a dozen consults and reducing multiple hip dislocations had filled up a thoroughly tiring day. 

She eyed the bar for a heartbeat before she bypassed it and went straight for the bathroom. The perpetual humidity and drizzle of her new habitat was wreaking havoc on her hair. And who knew who she might run into in this place. It seemed to be a popular hangout for the doctors from the hospital. There was one perky blonde surgeon she knew she wouldn’t mind running into. Not that she was looking for her. Or fixing her hair on the off-chance that Arizona showed up. Nope. She definitely wasn’t doing that.

Before she could reach the short hallway, she was stopped by a tall bearded man, graying hair not diminishing his undeniable attractiveness. The problem was the smug grin he wore that told her he knew exactly how hot he was and expected a response to it. It was immediately unappealing.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before,” he commented. “I’m Mark Sloan. Head of Plastics.”

Callie smirked. “Callie Torres, new Ortho attending. And I was actually here the other night. You must not have been paying attention.”

He shook his head, smile not slipping. “I would have noticed a woman who looks like you.”

She shrugged, still smirking. “You must not be as observant as you think you are because I was here.” A laugh escaped. “And with as drunk as we were, I’d guess we got pretty loud.” With that, she edged around him and continued toward the bathroom, smiling to herself in triumph. It was obvious that that guy had been aiming to get in her pants, and without the smugness she might have considered, but the memory of Arizona was still fresh and she couldn’t find it in herself to be attracted to the new prospect.

The bathroom door was only closed for a few moments before it was swinging open again to allow Arizona Robbins entrance. “Hey.” She bit her lip, scuffing the toe of her sneaker against the tile floor and looking completely adorable in a casual gray v-neck t-shirt and dark jeans over a pair of red Converse. Callie had to hold back a wanton moan at the sight of her. She looked positively delicious. “I saw Mark Sloan talking to you out there…”

Callie gave her a look in the bathroom mirror she was using to fix her hair. “Was I supposed to tell him I was meeting someone? Because I never heard back from you about tonight.”

Arizona’s expression slacked for a heartbeat before it tightened. “You’re going out with Mark?! Calliope…”

“No,” the brunette interjected, thinking about rebuking Arizona for continuing to use her full name. Before she could speak though, she decided suddenly that she liked the sound of it on her lips. “I’m not going out with anyone.” She finished what repairs she could make on her hair and turned, leaning her hips back against the edge of the sink, arms crossing her chest. “I know I’m new in town, but I thought I got pretty lucky the other night,” they both smirked at the joke, “I met someone kind of amazing my first night in Seattle and I asked her out for tonight but she never said yes.” She slumped her shoulders melodramatically, only exaggerating, not faking, her disappointment. “So I’m going to drink alone and go back to my apartment. I’ve got some unpacking left to do.”

Arizona bit her lip, moving forward slowly. Callie didn’t move, just waited with a knowing smirk on her lips. Pale hands on the sink boxed her in, the heat of Arizona’s body radiating in the rapidly narrowing space between them. “How about we get a bottle of whatever you’d like and I’ll help you unpack?” she suggested, lowering her voice unconsciously as she drew nearer. “I’m very type A. That’s a handy trait to have around while unpacking.”

Callie smiled, one hand reaching up to stroke two fingers through blonde curls and tucking a few stray pieces behind her ear. “You make it sound so tempting,” she whispered.

“Hey, liquor was part of the offer too, remember?” Arizona reminded her, chuckling. Her head unconsciously leaned into the touch.

There was a hairsbreadth between their lips, both of them drawn in helplessly. “Do you really think we need it?” Callie breathed, Arizona capturing her lips in answer. It was a fair question. First kisses didn’t feel like this, in her experience. Technically, it wasn’t a first kiss, but sloppy, drunken passion wasn’t this.

This was electric, and raw, and lit something inside of her on fire.

They sure as hell didn’t need any liquor. 

Arizona let her go gradually, the kiss surprisingly brief and chaste for what they could both feel. “Should we get out of here?” she questioned in a soft voice.

Callie smiled. “I’m good with that.” She started to push the blonde back, but Arizona’s hands on her shoulders stopped her. “What? Did I-?”

“One thing,” Arizona said, hesitating. “What is this? I mean, is it just sex, or…”

Brown eyes blinked in surprise. “What?” she asked again, laughing as she spoke. “Was it not you who hit on me the other night?” She grinned. “And did you not kick me out that morning?” Arizona’s mouth pulled at the corners and she chewed on her bottom lip. “And when I asked you out the next morning at work, I believe you were the one who didn’t answer me.”

“You can’t put that one on me!” cried Arizona, snagging gratefully to her one opportunity to have the upper hand. “You suggested we recreate that night. So I want to know if that night was just sex, or if…”

Callie interrupted her with a kiss, both hands holding the blonde’s face and pulling on her bottom lip with her own lips. Arizona adapted admirably, the pleasurable pressure of Callie’s mouth on hers overwhelming her. The sex had been amazing, but if that was all there was to this, she was going to drink the entire bar because the kissing was freaking fantastic too. She was suddenly feeling very selfish. She wanted more than just hot, hot, oh so hot sex with Callie.

“Let me take you to dinner,” Callie breathed, tearing her mouth away as they both tried to catch their breath. “If we have sex after, great. If we don’t, that sucks, but I’ll keep trying.”

“Trying to have sex with me?” Arizona teased, relaxing. “After I hypothetically said no? Really Calliope?” Her teasing smirk was delightful.

Callie corrected her, “Trying to take you out, moron.” She rolled her eyes. “Even though you already know I’m amazing so there’s really no good reason to turn me down. We’re both attendings, so there’s no rank issues at work. We’re in different departments. And we can be professional in the hospital.”

“Someone’s being a little presumptuous, don’t you think?” Arizona questioned with a dimpled smile. “What if the date doesn’t go well? It could be awkward and we’d feel obligated to hide from each other. There’re lots of floors, lots of places to hide.”

Callie’s head shook from side to side in denial. “I guess it could, but I kind of doubt it.” She kissed Arizona again, tongue slipping forward to ask for entrance. The Peds surgeon let her in, her own tongue pressing back against hers eagerly. The taste of her was captivating, addicting, and she wanted more of it. She wanted all of it.

Arizona looked dazed when the kiss ended, drawing back and swallowing hard. “So far, so good,” she acknowledged breathlessly. “You said something about dinner, I think…”

Callie nodded, smiling. “Shall we, then?”

Arizona’s blonde curls were mussed in a perfectly sexy way as they exited the restroom and Callie felt a burst of pride. It only grew when she caught Mark Sloan’s eye, the tall man turning on his stool to track them as they left the bar together, his mouth hanging open.

“So, where to?” Arizona asked, head ducking as they emerged back into the light drizzle that seemed to constantly coat Seattle. She pulled her jacket over her shoulders and slid her arms into the sleeves.

Callie laughed, one hand shielding her eyes from the rain. “I moved to town the other day. I don’t know anywhere around here. You pick.”

“Well, where’s your apartment? That should narrow down a neighborhood at least.”

Laughing again, Callie pointed down the block. “Over there.”

“What, down that way?”

“No, that big brick one down the block. I’m on the fifth floor.”

Comically, blue eyes widened. “Really? You live across the street from the hospital? Well, if you just want to go home…”

“I asked you to dinner, Arizona,” Callie interrupted her rambling to remind her. “I’d offer to cook for you but my pots and pans are still boxed up somewhere in the mess and I’m too hungry to look for them tonight.”

Arizona took her wrist and tugged her in that direction. “If you live right there we could just order pizza. Or stop by a convenience store and pick up stuff for sandwiches.”

Callie laughed, eyebrows rising as she let herself be pulled along. “Now who’s being presumptuous? If you want to come home with me, you can just say it. No need for the attempt at subtlety, Arizona.” The blonde sent her a look over her shoulder and started to steer them toward the convenience store. “Oh, actually, can we call for a pizza? My treat. I don’t really love sandwiches.”

“Perfect. Me neither.” Arizona shifted her grip to hold Callie’s hand, the other hand digging her phone out of her purse. “Hi, I’d like an order for delivery.”

Callie signaled her apartment number with her free hand as they entered the building, Arizona nodding toward the stairs. Callie felt a hand slap lightly against her butt and she sent the grinning Arizona a surprised but pleased look. “Excuse me?” she whispered, smirking.

“You’ve got a great ass, Calliope,” Arizona sent back, shrugging unapologetically. “I can’t help myself.”

“You better not still be on the phone. If I get stalked by a pizza guy, I’m going to be so pissed,” Callie stated warningly.

Arizona laughed, sliding the phone into the back pocket of her jeans. “Don’t worry. You can hide out at my house. I’ll keep the stalkers away.”

They exchanged grins and both unconsciously picked up their pace up the stairs, eager to get to the fifth floor. “Now, you’ll just have to pardon the mess. I’ve pretty much only even started to unpack the bedroom.”

“I’d be happy to help you with that,” Arizona countered, bobbing her eyebrows facetiously.

Callie shot her a knowing smirk as she unlocked the door, feeling Arizona’s hand slip into the back pocket of her jeans. “You really can’t help yourself, can you?”

Arizona shook her head, other arm curling around Callie’s waist from behind. “I spent a few minutes admiring it the other morning too. I was late to work, you know.” She scoffed. “And scoping a hot girl’s ass is not an excuse that my boss would accept.”

Callie laughed, drawing the blonde into the apartment with her. “Are you sure? Maybe he’d have been jealous.”

Arizona leaned in to kiss the side of her neck, joining the Latina in laughing. “Stark pictures your ass and it’s the last thought he’ll ever have.” Possessive Arizona was kind of cute, Callie decided silently. And she didn’t really mind Arizona being protective of her butt. It was more hot than cute, though. “Although, he would die very happy. I mean, probably the happiest that bitter little toad has ever been.”

“So, you’re either a fan of my butt or you’re really not a fan of your boss,” teased Callie.

“Oh, it’s both,” Arizona affirmed earnestly, face dropping against a tanned neck to kiss her again, gratified when the move earned her a moan from Callie. Her lips moved to her ear. “I’m a fan of everything you’ve got,” she whispered.

Callie reached behind her, hooking a hand in the blonde’s belt and hauling her bodily around so they were face to face, wrapping the blonde up in her arms. “Keep talking like that in my ear and you’re the only thing that’s going to get done around here,” she gruffly warned her.

Arizona’s smirk was pleased, proud. “You promise?” Callie’s expression was more than promising and she hummed in satisfaction. “I can be good if you can, Calliope.” Blue eyes danced around the room crowded with boxes, only about half even opened. “And you really do need some help in here.”

Callie sighed, reluctantly loosening her grip on Arizona. “I did promise you dinner and the possibility of turning me down for sex.”

“So if my pants come off before the pizza even gets here, what does that make me?” Arizona teasingly wondered, bobbing her eyebrows.

“Sexy,” answered Callie simply, grinning as she let the blonde go.

Arizona hauled her back in for a kiss, smiling against her lips. “And, for the record, turning you down? So not going to happen, Calliope.” She hopped on her toes excitedly. “But let’s get started on some of these boxes so we don’t get interrupted by the pizza man with our pants off.” She turned, smirking over her shoulder. “When I get you naked again, I want to take my time.”

Callie let her head rock back on her neck, sighing and praying for restraint. One night of lustful passion and the barest minimum of what could be constituted as a date, and she couldn’t keep herself in control around Arizona. Whatever the hell was going on with her though, she couldn’t say she minded it. It had been a long time since she’d felt like this about anyone, especially someone she’d just met. She brutally repressed memories of what she’d left behind in Miami. One night and day and she knew that she’d made the right decision leaving Florida.

“So, where should we start? Anywhere in particular?”

Arizona’s voice snapped her back to the present and Callie shrugged. “I think most of the kitchen boxes are in the kitchen,” she offered.

Blue eyes rolled and Arizona dragged a hand across the top of Callie’s chest as she crossed the room in front of her, catching her hand and pulling her along. “You’re a wealth of information. Really, so helpful.” She released Callie to slice the tape on the top box of a stack standing next to the sink. “So if I open this one I might find pots and pans?”

“Or possibly underwear,” Callie commented, distracted riffling through an open box on the counter. “I wasn’t really diligent with the labeling, as you can see,” Callie hedged, shrugging and digging out a coffeemaker. “See? This one is kitchen stuff.”

“Well, here’s hoping this one’s underwear!” Arizona’s face fell comically when she opened the box to find bubble wrapped plates. “Shoot! So the underwear boxes might be where, exactly? The living room, the bedroom? I’m happy to look wherever.” She sent Callie a cheerful blue-eyed wink.

The Latina answered her with a smirk. “Very dedicated of you.” Anything further was delayed by a knock on the door. “I hope you’re hungry.” Stepping backward toward the door, she felt a shiver slide down her spine at the look Arizona sent her in response.

“I really am,” the blonde said hoarsely. Clearing her throat, she laughed when Callie shook her ass at her as she leaned over to pick up her purse.

They ate their pizza straight from the box, unpacking and chatting while they ate. Callie was from Miami, born and raised, Arizona was from a military family and had lived all over the country. Callie enjoyed reading in her downtime while Arizona had a fondness for video games inherited from her kids at work. They both enjoyed drinking and dancing. Callie was a dedicated football fan, Arizona didn’t watch sports. In one of her boxes Arizona found a radio alarm clock and tuned it to a local station that played a mix of everything, letting it serenade them while they worked.

When a song with a good beat started, Callie couldn’t resist dancing as she sorted through a box of china. Arizona was standing barefooted on the counter, waiting for Callie to hand her up the plates and glasses so she could put them away on the top shelf. They’d been working for a few hours and had almost finished the kitchen but there were still boxes everywhere. Watching Callie shuffle from heel to toe and shimmy while she pulled plates out, she couldn’t help the dimples appearing on her cheeks. “You’re beautiful,” she said when Callie finally noticed her watching.

The brunette handed up a short stack of plates, not stopping her dancing. “The view from down here is pretty great too.” She offered a hand. “That’s the last of the plates. Ready to come down?” Callie’s arm caught her and she slid down the Latina’s body, the tile of the floor cold on her toes. 

“Hey,” Arizona whispered as soon as they were face to face.

Callie echoed her greeting. “Thanks for all the help. This has to be the lamest first date ever, huh? I promise I can do better if you give me another shot.”

Arizona’s arms curled around Callie’s shoulders, fingers playing with the back of her hair. “You don’t need another shot.” She nudged her nose against Callie’s, tilting her head to kiss her softly. “You’re doing great with this one.”

Their lips reconnected and Callie tightened her arms around the blonde’s waist, hauling her body in tighter against her own. Arizona’s fingers curled into dark hair, holding her head close as she let her bottom jaw drop, Callie’s tongue immediately taking up the invitation. The kiss grew passionate and hands wandered as they fell further into each other. A few short days and she was completely crazy for this woman. Callie gripped a tight butt in both hands and Arizona responded by hopping up into the grip and wrapping her legs around the Latina’s waist.

The kiss broke as Arizona tore her lips away, both of them breathing hard. “What?” Callie questioned, squeezing the thighs in her grip as she supported the blonde. “What’s wrong?”

Arizona smiled breathlessly, shaking her head. “I think we’re done in here.” It was a joke. The kitchen was in decent shape, but the living room was still a maze of mostly packed boxes. Callie nodded agreement anyway. “Should we see what we can do in the bedroom?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Okay, very funny! I was trying to ask you out this morning when your lava coffee burned my throat out, remember?"
> 
> Callie's eyebrows rose, smirking smile on her lips. "Two nights in a row and three nights in one week? Wow…"

Arizona was gone when Callie turned over and she dimly remembered the beeping of a pager earlier in the morning. At least she hadn’t been left because the sex had been bad. Stretching as she sat up, she grinned to herself. The sex had been outstanding. Again. And energetic as hell. Callie didn’t know what Arizona’s middle name was, they hadn’t gotten that deep into their getting to know you small talk, but she was going to guess it was stamina.

Then she caught the scent of coffee and she sighed in appreciation. Arizona Stamina Robbins might be the perfect woman. Smart, funny, charming, gorgeous, absolutely amazing in bed, and she made coffee for the morning after? She might need to marry this woman.

On the counter she found the travel mug she’d taken from Arizona’s kitchen, a sticky note stuck on the lid bearing Arizona’s handwriting. ‘We haven’t unpacked yours yet, so you can keep borrowing mine. Hope I see you around the hospital today. And not just because you have my favorite coffee mug. Last night was awesome.’

Scrounging up clothes from a still packed box in the corner of her bedroom, Callie dressed and crossed the street to the hospital, sipping coffee from Arizona’s mug for the second day in a week. Even taking the completely cutesy mug into consideration, it was a habit she wouldn’t mind getting into. In her locker she found a muffin from the cart on the first floor. Three guesses where that came from, she reflected with a smirk. She still ate it, though. She’d never gone out with someone so…cute before. If going out was the right term for what they were doing. Two nights of sex and some unpacking… She was counting it as a point toward a date that they hadn’t been drunk the night before. It had just been lust.

One of the residents who showed up for her rounds, a Dr. Karev, gave her a knowing smirk as they walked toward her patient’s room. “Do I know you?” she questioned. “Because you’re smirking at me like you know something, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never met you.”

Alex chuckled, hands tucked in the pocket of his lab coat. “I think you know my attending.” 

Callie arched an eyebrow curiously, surveying him. “You’re in Peds?”

“You’re not denying you know Dr. Robbins?”

“Is there a reason I should?” Callie asked, frowning. “We went out.” Her expression shifted to a grin as she remembered the untruth of that statement. “We meant to go out anyway. We stayed in, actually.” He quick-stepped to get in front of her long stride, stopping her in her tracks and the interns filed past them when he pointed them toward the patient room. “Okay, what’s your problem? I just moved here. She was helping me unpack.”

“Dr. Robbins is my boss, but she’s my friend too. She’s stuck her neck out for me and she’s taught me a lot. She’s the only one who’s ever gone to bat for me.” Alex’s arms crossed over his chest, his expression serious. “We watch each others backs. When she meets someone, I look out for her. And she likes you. So don’t screw it up.”

Callie blinked. “You do know I’m an attending too, don’t you? First week or not, I outrank you, Dr. Karev.”

Alex nodded, still serious. “I know. We’re just talking, that’s all.” Turning on his heel, he preceded her into the patient’s room, the little girl she’d worked with Arizona to heal her first day. “Hey, boss,” Karev greeted Arizona with a grin.

“Dr. Karev,” the blonde greeted him with an amused tone, eyes not lifting from the chart. “Do you want to present, or…” she looked up, smiling when she noticed Callie standing behind him, “Dr. Torres,” she said warmly. “Good morning.”

Callie rolled her eyes, smiling back at her helplessly. God, but she was adorable. “Morning.” She sipped her coffee from Arizona’s mug pointedly and the blonde’s blue eyes narrowed at her. “And how are you feeling today, Haley?”

“My leg hurts, Dr. Torres!” the little girl complained.

Nodding sympathetically, Callie said, “I know, sweetie. I’m sorry.” Her gaze shifted to Haley’s mother. “But the bone was reset cleanly and she’ll be back on her feet, with crutches, in a few days.”

“Alex, if you’d outline the rest of the case for Mrs. Fairbanks,” Arizona spoke up, letting her student take the lead. He did just that and quizzed the interns about possible treatments and various possible complications. “We’ll keep an eye on everything, of course, but Dr. Torres performed a beautiful surgery and everything went very smoothly so nothing we’ve just outlined is very likely. Do you have any questions or concerns?”

When they were finished, Karev left to prep for his next surgery, his interns trailing after him and leaving Arizona and Callie to themselves.

“Thanks for the coffee this morning,” Callie offered as they walked through the Peds wing, both of them the picture of professionalism. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Arizona’s eyes rolled up toward the ceiling as though she was thinking hard. “I seem to remember finding fresh coffee in my kitchen after you left me naked and alone,” she mused, her tone decidedly unprofessional, despite her appearance. “Fair’s fair, Dr. Torres.”

“Oh, really, Dr. Robbins?” Callie sent back in a hissing whisper, looking around to see if there was anyone close enough to hear them. “Because you’re the one who kicked me out to leave you naked and alone!” she reminded her, keeping her voice down as Arizona pushed the button for the elevator, tucking both hands behind her back as she waited. Callie shot her eyes sideways at the politely smiling blonde. “Do you think we’re ever going to wake up together after a date?”

“I certainly hope so,” Arizona agreed earnestly. “And speaking of a date…” The elevator doors opened and she walked on, Callie following a half-step behind her. The doors slid closed behind them and Arizona dropped one hand to her side to bump against Callie’s free hand. “I checked the schedule in the Chief’s office and you’re off on Tuesday.”

Callie raised an expressive eyebrow. “And?”

“And I’m off on Tuesday,” Arizona continued.

“And?”

The blonde scoffed in frustration. “Are you really going to drag it out of me like this?!”

Callie just sipped her coffee. “I think so, yes. It’s fun.”

Arizona abruptly snatched the coffee mug from her hand. “Be that way. This is mine!” She chugged the last of the coffee but coughed, surprised by the heat of it that burned her mouth. “Hot! That’s hot!” she wheezed, choking.

Callie took the cup back from her, shaking her head. “You forgot that I live across the street and I just got here. There’s no time for my coffee to get cold.” She leaned over to look into Arizona’s watering eyes. “Are you okay?” Her concern was genuine, even if there was an amused smile on her lips. The blonde nodded, wiping her streaked face. “Okay, good. Could I see you on Tuesday? Maybe breakfast? Or brunch if you like to sleep in…” She got another nod, Arizona choking out an affirmative. “Great.”

The elevator slowed to stop and Callie took a step toward the doors only to have Arizona grab her wrist. “Lunch?”

“On Tuesday? Sure. Do you want to call me or I could pick you up…?”

A low blonde ponytail swung from side to side. “No, not Tuesday. Today. Lunch today. Will you eat with me?”

Blinking in surprise and understanding, a smile broke out on her face. “Oh. Oh yes! That would be great. It won’t hurt your rep to each lunch with the new kid?”

Arizona rolled her eyes, scoffing hoarsely. “The insanely hot new kid, you mean? Hell no it’s not going to hurt my reputation!” She smirked. “There’ll be people lining up for you,” she declared, voice sounding more normal. “Fortunately for me, I jumped the line early.”

“You’re a moron,” Callie commented, though the vaguely insulting response was tinged with almost affection.

Arizona shrugged, pleased with her victory. “Have fun being a rockstar!” she called over her shoulder as she practically skipped off the elevator. “See you at one!”

A wreck in the pit ate up the time until lunch but Callie found herself in the cafeteria at a few minutes after one. It felt like the first day of school, though, scanning the room for somewhere to sit. Leaving Miami had been a quick decision, leaving behind the only home she’d ever known and the life she’d built there pretty much in the middle of the night and with only a few days of notice that she’d gotten the job in Seattle. 

She’d been searching for jobs, quietly, for months, and the job at Seattle Grace had seemed too good to be true - Ortho attending position, more money, prestigious teaching hospital, and best of all, it was on the other side of the country from Florida. She’d wanted to get away and Washington was about as far as you could get and still be on the same continent. So when she’d gotten the call from Chief Webber that she’d gotten the job, she’d hired movers that day and booked a flight for the next morning.

Spotting Arizona’s wave from across the room, she started in that direction, grateful that she wouldn’t be sitting alone or being hit on incessantly while she ate, noticing Mark Sloan’s chipper wave as she passed his table. Arizona was sitting with a group and Callie couldn’t help smiling when Dr. Hunt stood up as she joined them.

“Dr. Torres,” he greeted her politely, sitting down as she did. They’d already met, a lot of her cases coming into his ER.

“Oh, right, everybody, this is the new Ortho attending, Dr. Callie Torres. Callie, this is Dr. Owen Hunt, Trauma God, who I guess you already know, and my best friend, Dr. Teddy Altman, Head of Cardio.” She gestured toward a thin Asian woman who was already rising from her seat to join an ash blonde who was walking by and waved. “And these two are Cristina Yang and Meredith Grey. They’re fifth years.”

“And we have surgery. Later Torres,” Cristina interjected brusquely, throwing a wave over one shoulder as she left the table.

“Nice to meet you,” Meredith threw in, tone more friendly than her friend. “Hope you like Seattle!”

Callie waved back. “Thanks. Nice to meet you all.”

“Cristina’s married to Owen. And she’s Teddy’s prized student,” Arizona leaned over to tell her.

Callie smiled, bumping her with an elbow. “Thanks for the rundown. Being the new kid sucks.”

“That’s why you’ve got me.” Arizona’s dimples popped when she smiled. “I’ve got your back.”

Blinking at her, Callie couldn’t help laughing. “Funny you say that. Your boy Karev gave me a similar attitude about you earlier.”

Arizona’s mouth dropped open and Callie sipped her soda while she watched the blonde squirm for a second. “He didn’t… Calliope, I-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Callie cut her off, stealing a fry from the basket on Arizona’s tray. “He cares about you. It’s sweet. And getting tough talked on my fourth day? Not intimidating at all. New job, I didn’t already have anything to be nervous about…”

“You get nervous?” Arizona questioned, gently sarcastic. “I don’t think I believe you. Everything I’ve seen has been badass Dr. Torres.” A smirk made her dimples pop again. “And sexy as hell Dr. Torres,” she continued under her breath so only she and Callie could hear it. “Do I need to talk to Karev? I’ll yell if I have to.”

“Nah. It was cool. Now I know who to watch for on the chance I screw this up.” She wasn’t sure if this whatever they had going was a thing she could screw up, but she knew that, either way, this wasn’t the time or place to talk about it so she leaned back in her seat, grateful that the rest of the group was paying them no attention, distracted by a discussion of Cristina Yang.

“We’re being rude,” Teddy interjected, taking a bite of her salad.

Owen scratched at his beard, nodding. “Sorry about that, ladies. Dr. Torres, how are you liking Seattle? Florida doesn’t get rain like we do here.”

“Nowhere gets rain like we do here,” Teddy agreed fervently. “It’s why I stayed.”

Callie smiled. “It’s killing my hair, but I love the rain. I’ll probably miss the sun sooner or later, but it’s only a few days into my move so I’m still loving it. How long have you two been here?”

The pair exchanged glances and Teddy smiled at Callie and Arizona’s side of the table. “I got here about a year ago. Owen’s been here longer.”

“By about six months,” he clarified. “I came here and suggested she join me in the rain and all the green. It’s a nice change from the sandbox.”

“So what brought you to Seattle?” Teddy questioned, friendly and polite and clearly trying to change the subject.

If only she could oblige the other woman, but the story of why she left was not one she was going to share with these people, potential new friends, her fresh start, and most definitely not with Arizona sitting right beside her. The truth would come out eventually, she knew, but not yet and not now. So she hedged.

“Oh, you know, change of scenery and all that. I’ve lived in Miami my whole life and when I finished residency, it was past time for a change of location,” she explained vaguely. “Plus, this is pretty much my dream job.” She shrugged. “Had to take it.”

“Well, we’re glad you’re here,” Owen said genuinely. “And I’m sorry to have to rush off, but I’ve got a few post-op patients I need to check on. I’ll see you ladies later, I’m sure.”

Teddy turned to watch him leave and Arizona cleared her throat pointedly, drawing the other blonde’s eyes to her. “Come on, Teddy. I thought you were over the Owen thing.”

“I am! He’s with Cristina and they’re married and happy and I’m fine with it,” Teddy stated, insistent. “Callie, you seeing anyone? I don’t see a ring…” The Latina glanced sideways at Arizona, biting her lip without answering. “You’re kidding me! Arizona? Robbins, she’s been here, what, like five days?!”

“She’s been here five days and we met at Joe’s five nights ago,” Arizona explained, grinning without embarrassment. “Tequila has always been a good friend to me.”

“I hate you,” Teddy grumbled, thumping the heel of her hand against her temple. “I really hate you. I’ve been here a year and have the Owen thing shoved in my face every day and you just meet a new girl on her first night in town and take her home! Unbelievable!”

“Hey, we’re dating,” Arizona protested. Off Callie’s surprised blink, she corrected herself, “Or something. We - um - well we went on a date…”

Callie laughed, clarifying, “She came over and helped me unpack.”

“And you bought food! It counts! And we have plans on Tuesday!”

“I hate you,” Teddy growled at Arizona, dropping her head against the table. “And Callie, nothing personal since I just met you, but I kind of hate you too a little bit.”

Callie shook her head, spearing a piece of tomato in her pasta. “Hate away. Happy people suck.” She clinked her plastic cup against Teddy’s when the heart surgeon lifted her head and toasted. “What?” Callie questioned when Arizona shot her a look. “They do.”

“So we qualify as happy people but we suck because of it?” Arizona asked her, arching an eyebrow at her.

The brunette nodded matter-of-factly. “Yes. Single people hate dating people. And happy dating people are the worst! How do you not know this?”

Teddy rolled her eyes dramatically. “Arizona hasn’t been single for more than two weeks since I met her,” she confided, narrowing her gaze at her friend. “How do you even find so many lesbians? Seattle is not that big, woman!”

Callie’s eyebrows went up. “Interesting,” she said, leaning forward on her elbows with a smirk. “Tell me more, Teddy.”

“Shut up, Teddy,” Arizona interjected immediately. “That makes it sound like I’m a slut! I’m not a slut!”

“Who said slut?” Teddy grumbled. “I said you date. That’s not untrue.”

“And do you take all of these dates home?” Callie asked, turning onto one elbow so she could face Arizona. “And for the record, are we also dating other people?”

Arizona glared across the table at Teddy as the other blonde straightened up, listening curiously and obviously interested in the new line of questioning. “Do you want to date other people? Did someone else ask you out?”

“Did you ask me out?” Callie answered teasingly. “No, Arizona, no one else asked me out. I guess that Mark guy tried,” both blondes’ faces screwed up distastefully, “but I don’t even know anyone else here.” She snapped her fingers. “Unless, Teddy, what are you doing tonight?”

Arizona huffed, the sound drowning out any answer Teddy might have made. “Okay, very funny! I was trying to ask you out this morning when your lava coffee burned my throat out, remember?!”

“I can speak for myself,” Teddy interjected. “First of all, I would suggest not going out with Mark Sloan, personal experience suggestion. Second, sorry, Callie, but I have plans tonight.”

“Not with Owen, right?” queried Arizona anxiously.

Teddy ignored the question. “And Arizona’s normally pretty chaste on the first date. A kiss is the usual. But she hasn’t had many lately that go past the second date.”

“Okay, since when did you start paying so much attention to my dating?” Arizona’s voice was confused. “I don’t like it. You can stop now.”

Teddy ignored her again. “So what’s the plan for the third date?”

“Oh my God,” muttered Arizona, head thumping against the table as she crossed her arms over her head.

Callie and Teddy exchanged grins. “Is this technically the third date? Drunken hook ups don’t count as a first date, do they?”

“They do when they’re that awesome, Calliope,” Arizona’s muffled voice declared from underneath her arms.

Shrugging, Callie laughed. “Okay, then. We have plans to do breakfast or brunch on Tuesday since we’re both off,” she answered Teddy’s question.

“And will this breakfast or brunch take place after sleeping together the night before, or will one of you be picking the other one up?” Teddy questioned.

“Hey! You were a surgeon in the Army, not an interrogator!” Arizona reminded her sternly. “And if your big mouth ruins my chances of getting laid on Monday night, I’m going to kick your butt! You were in the Army but my brother is a Marine! I could totally do it!”

The other two exchanged smirking glances. “I guess that answers that question,” Callie said dryly, her shoulders bobbing as she shrugged. “You know, I’m not sure why we bothered unpacking my kitchen if I’m spending every night at your house.”

“We were at your place last night, Callie,” the buried blonde surgeon countered. “We’re alternating.”

“So far…”

Teddy rolled her eyes dramatically, winking as Callie laughed. “If you exchange keys within the next two weeks, one of you is dead,” she said sweetly, picking up her tray as she stood up, her pager beeping on her hip. “Callie, it really was good to meet you. Welcome to Seattle.”

“Thank you. It was really nice to meet you too, Teddy,” the brunette replied.

Arizona’s head came up fully. “And Teddy, this thing,” her finger pointed between herself and Callie, “discrete around the hospital, please?” she requested.

The taller blonde winked reassuringly. “Of course. See you around, Robbins, Torres.”

There was a moment of silence as Teddy walked away, Arizona biting her lip. “I don’t just take women home, Calliope.”

“Except when you’re celebrating. I get it. It’s cool, really.”

“When I’m celebrating,” Arizona nodded, “and the woman in question is so completely stunning that I have to talk to her or risk completely losing my buzz,” she explained, the small, teasing smile on her lips telling Callie precisely who she was talking about. “Taking you home the other night, that was the best drunk decision I’ve ever made.”

“I would hope so,” Callie murmured with a smirk, tone dry.

“Hey, be nice to me when I’m trying to be sweet!” Arizona rebuked her. “I like you, Callie. I really, really like you,” she tried a charming grin, “And I wasn’t that drunk when I sat down beside you. And from what I remember, you were the one who kissed me first.” Callie just smiled without speaking. “I’m not saying this right! What I mean is, I really like you, Calliope. And part of me wishes that we hadn’t gotten drunk and screwed the first night we ever met, but only so we could have been sober and remembered it better. But we did and it was awesome. And it was awesome last night.”

“And…?” Callie could sense the question behind her ramble. “Is something wrong, Arizona?” The blonde hesitated and Callie leaned forward to get a better look at her. “We can slow down if you want to,” she suggested. “We don’t have to sleep together…”

Arizona frowned, shaking her head. “Whoa, no! I’m not saying that! I’m just saying, it could have started more slowly. But it didn’t and we just have to deal with going straight to the endless sex part of every new relationship.”

Callie’s eyebrows rose slowly. “Relationship?”

“Dating, whatever.” Arizona waved her off. “My point is, it’s been five days and I really like you. I’m not sorry about it, but I didn’t expect it to happen.”

“Okay,” Callie agreed, voice soft. They weren’t eating, either of them, and anyone who looked at them would be able to see that they weren’t just having a mere friendly conversation. “And, what, you’re thinking that I don’t feel it?” Arizona chewed on her lip and Callie couldn’t help reaching for her face, hand firmly holding the blonde’s chin. “I feel it, Arizona. It’s been five days, sure, but I don’t think I’ve ever liked someone so much, so quickly.”

It was more complicated than that, though, but she shoved that truth out of her mind, clinging instead to the simple fact that she liked Arizona. And she was wasn’t doing anything wrong, she reminded herself. It didn’t stop the almost guilty feeling in her stomach. Sometimes she really hated being Catholic.

Arizona’s sigh drew her back to the present. “I wish we weren’t in the cafeteria so I could kiss you,” she confessed in a whisper.

“We’re not doing anything wrong,” Callie reminded them both. “We can talk to the Chief, you know?”

“Not yet. It’s too soon for that.”

Callie nodded amicably. “Sure. Well, if we get to a spot where it’s okay, know I’m up for it,” she declared.

Unexpectedly, this made Arizona groan. “Now I really want to kiss you,” she breathed, leaning her head into the steady hand on her jaw. “You don’t happen to have any reason to go to another floor, do you?”

Callie shrugged, smirking. “I could come up with something,” she reasoned. She followed Arizona’s lead and picked up her tray, both of them crossing the cafeteria to dump their trash. “I thought we were trying to be discrete around the hospital,” she laughingly reminded Arizona. “This is not subtle.”

Arizona shot her a smirk over her shoulder. “You haven’t been here long. This is as discrete as things get at Seattle Grace.”

*****

Leaving the cafeteria, they reached the hall, a pale hand pulling Callie along by the sleeve of her lab coat. Two fingers pushed the call button for the elevator and the doors opened immediately.

They stepped in calmly, Arizona gritting her teeth as a short African-American woman called out for someone to hold the doors. Callie did it without thought, shrugging apologetically when Arizona sent her a frustrated look.

“Dr. Robbins, good afternoon,” the new arrival said calmly, not noticing or else ignoring the lingering tension in the air.

“Hi, Dr. Bailey. Miranda, have you met the new Ortho attending? Callie Torres, Miranda Bailey,” Arizona introduced them, her tone relaxing somewhat. “Bailey’s the best General surgeon in the hospital.” And she was a good friend. A year ahead of Arizona in residency, Miranda Bailey had been chief resident and there was little doubt that she would be Chief of Surgery as soon as the job became available. Stern on the outside, she was tough on her students and kind to her patients, determined to turn her interns and residents into the best doctors they could be. She was a feared teacher, but anyone who could survive would have an unrivaled education.

“Nice to meet you.” Callie offered a hand to shake, nodding to the other doctor.

“You too,” Bailey returned, eyes surveying the pair. “Dr. Robbins, I’ve got a case in the pit I could use you on.”

Arizona’s brow furrowed and she checked the pager clipped to the inside of her coat pocket. “Did you page? Because I didn’t get it…”

“Not an urgent case,” Bailey assured her. “Pox outbreak at a local day care. There’s only one case so far, but the school called. There could be some infant cases and you know how the parents get. And I know it’s not surgical, but Peds has the best quarantine set up so the Chief wants to keep them up there.”

The blonde sighed. “So we’ll need to set it up for the ones that come in.” She gazed sideways at her friend. “Did you page Stark?”

Bailey scoffed lightly, eyes rolling. “Please. If I’m calling anyone for help, it’s going to be someone who will actually help,” she declared. “I have interns for whining that I’m wasting their time.”

“Did you get in touch with Alex?” Arizona asked, smirking. She wasn’t the only person that Dr. Stark drove crazy.

She nodded, chin length dark hair bobbing as her head moved. “He’s on his way down now. Grey should be coming with him.”

“Good. Thank you, Bailey,” Arizona voiced her approval of the plan. “You heading down now?” Her fingers hovered over the button that would carry them down to the ER floor. Bailey nodded again and Arizona pushed the button, taking a step back to stand in between Callie and Miranda. She sent Callie an apologetic look, but the brunette just shrugged, smiling.

The elevator doors slid closed and they started moving, Arizona lifting one finger to signal Bailey that she’d be a moment behind her when they reached their destination. “Calliope, I…”

Callie glanced around quickly. No one was looking at them in the bustle and she interrupted Arizona’s attempted explanation to kiss her. It was brief and chaste and unless they’d been looking straight at them, no one could have seen it. Arizona’s shock was clear, however. “Better?” Callie asked, laughing.

“No!” Arizona groaned through gritted teeth. “Now I want to kiss you again!”

“But you have to go help little kids,” Callie reminded her. “I’ll see you around, okay?”

“See me around Joe’s tonight?”

Callie’s eyebrows rose, smirking smile on her lips. “Two nights in a row and three nights in one week? Wow…”

Arizona continued quickly, “We won’t go home together. We’ll just get a drink, talk, that’s all.”

“And what if we want to go home together?” It was a fair question. Even standing in the hallway of the hospital, Callie could see the interest, the lust in her eyes. Arizona bit her lip, hesitant, and Callie shook her head in reprieve. “We won’t have sex, Arizona. We could just watch a movie, talk. I promise I’ll send myself home by midnight.”

“Why don’t we skip Joe’s then?” Arizona suggested. “You could just come over after work.”

“I don’t get off until after you do. How about I call you when I’m leaving?”

“Perfect.” Arizona’s dimples reappeared as she smiled. Callie was surprised but pleased when the blonde sidestepped in front of her and grabbed both sides of her lab coat, using the lapels to pull her into another kiss. It was longer than the first, but still not what either of them wanted. It would do until later, though. She stepped backward with a sigh. “Okay, I’m going to,” she pointed over her shoulder toward the curtained beds, “go now.”

Callie nodded, able to feel her lips tingling from Arizona’s absence. “Later.”

Aside from a few fleeting glimpses around the hospital they didn’t see each other again until Callie was knocking on the front door of the blonde’s house. As soon as Arizona opened the door, Callie was greeted by the scent of food and she slumped against the doorframe gratefully.

“Hungry?” Arizona cheerfully asked.

“God, yes. There was a MVA with a semi and four other cars and the pit was swamped with broken bones. I’m starving!” It was almost ten and she hadn’t eaten since lunch. “But why are you cooking in the middle of the night?”

Arizona shrugged, one hand curling around a wrist to pull Callie inside the house. “I thought you might be hungry. I heard about the accident.”

“How are the chicken pox kids?” Callie asked, taking the wineglass Arizona handed her.

A grimace cross the blonde’s face. “Miserable and itchy. The babies are the worst. They all have really high fevers and they can’t stop crying.”

“Poor babies,” murmured Callie sympathetically, sipping her wine. “What are you making? It smells amazing.”

“Oh, it was just something simple. Chicken and some rice. You’re not vegetarian or something, are you?” she asked as it occurred to her.

Callie snorted, eyes rolling. “Do I look like a vegetarian, Arizona?”

“Just checking!” Arizona put a hand up defensively.

“There was pepperoni on our pizza the other night,” she reminded her, smirking against the lip of the wine glass.

Arizona blushed, ducking her head. “Oh yeah… I remember more about the sex than the pizza, Calliope.”

Callie’s smirk was pleased and proud. “Well, that’s good to hear.”

Tugging her along into the kitchen, Arizona only released her to serve up some of the food for her. “We could eat in here, or on the couch, wherever you want.”

“Couch,” requested Callie, nodding toward the living room. “I just want to veg out if that’s okay.”

“That’s perfect.” Arizona handed her a plate and led the way into the other room, flopping herself down onto the sofa. “D’you mind if I watch some TV?”

“Of course not. It’s your house.” Callie took a seat on the other side of the couch and gratefully dug into her food. “Arizona, thank you,” she sighed. “This is just what I needed tonight.”

Arizona grinned across the couch at her, tucking her legs up beside herself and settling into the corner of the sofa. “Good. I’m glad to hear that.”

There was quiet as Callie ate hungrily, her eyes drawn helplessly to Arizona. The blonde was already wearing pajamas, which, in spite of spending two nights together, was a look she’d never seen on her. A thin, snug white tank top left the top of her chest and the smooth length of her arms bare. Long red flannel patterned pants covered the blonde’s perfect legs. In short, she looked perfectly delicious. But they’d declared that they weren’t going to sleep together tonight.

So when she finished her dinner, Callie stayed dutifully on her own half of the couch. She covered a yawn and blinked at the television. Now that she wasn’t focused on eating, the exhaustion was replacing the hunger. She leaned forward to put the empty plate on the coffee table and sighed as she leaned back into her spot.

“Hey,” Arizona called softly, stretching her legs out toward Callie and nudging her hip. Tired brown eyes found hers. “Come here,” she coaxed in a quiet voice, opening her arms in invitation.

“What about-?”

Arizona’s smile was affectionate. “You’re sleepy and you’re too far away. Just come here, please,” requested the blonde, wiggling her fingers to draw Callie in. “Please? Let me hold you.”

Without a protest, not even wanting to make one, Callie stretched out slowly. Arizona positioned a pillow for her next to her own arm, the blonde on her side and pressed against the back of the couch with her head leaned up on an elbow. Her free hand slid through dark hair as Callie settled into her spot, combing it behind her ear and back from her face. Callie’s hand that wasn’t curled under her head reached back blindly for Arizona, touch finding her hip. “Closer,” she murmured without opening her eyes. “You’re all scrunched up.”

“I’m fine,” Arizona whispered, amused. “You just relax.” To appease her, she let her body settle against Callie’s back, the brunette’s hand remaining on her hip and rubbing lightly over her butt.

“I’m not going home tonight, am I?” Callie questioned, cracking one eye open to look up at Arizona.

“Definitely not,” the blonde agreed, leaning down to kiss her temple. “You’re exhausted.” Another kiss, on her cheek the second time. “It wouldn’t be safe for you to drive. And you’re the Ortho specialist. You couldn’t fix yourself if you got in an accident.” She shook her head, nose nudging against a tanned neck as she trailed her kisses down. “Too risky. I’m not letting you go.”

A sleepy smile grew on Callie’s lips and she relaxed on the sofa. “Well, if I have to stay, I have to.” She turned her head to look up at her. “Whenever you want to go to bed, I’m good here.”

Arizona laughed, kissing her lips softly. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve got plenty of extra room if you don’t want to stay with me, but you’re not sleeping on the couch.”

“Why do you have such a big house, anyway?” Callie asked curiously, voice heavy with sleep. “It’s just you here, right?”

“Cristina, Meredith, and Alex have all lived here with me at some point, but Cristina and Meredith both got married so they’ve moved out,” Arizona explained.

Callie’s eyes blinked open more fully. “So Alex still lives here?”

“Sometimes,” Arizona laughed. “When he’s not hooking up with someone.” She trailed a finger across Callie’s face, the contact drawing her eyes to close again. “He’s in his fifth year. He stays busy. This is basically a place to crash.”

“Did you guys get the house to share?” Callie asked conversationally.

“No. It’s technically my parent’s house.”

“So your parents live here too?” She couldn’t help yawning, covering her mouth with one hand.

“No,” answered Arizona patiently, amused by the questioning when it was clear that Callie was flirting with the edge of sleep. “My dad was in the Marines for forty years. Even retired, they move around every eighteen months or so. It drives my mom crazy, but she loves him.” Her hand slid down Callie’s arm and curled across her middle. “But it makes it easier for them to visit me and my brother if they have places to stay in the cities where we live. We each live in them and they stay with us when they visit.”

“You have a brother? Older or younger?”

“Older, but only by a year,” Arizona supplied. “His name is Timothy. He’s a Marine, like Dad. What about you? Any siblings?”

“Sister, younger by three years. Name’s Aria.”

Arizona smiled. “Your parents gave their daughters beautiful names, Calliope.”

Callie’s mouth pulled at the corners but she didn’t open her eyes again. “My mom’s big into poetry and stuff.” She sighed as she turned her head into Arizona’s shoulder. “And you don’t know my middle name. It’s horrific.”

“I look forward to finding out what it is, but for now you should go to sleep,” whispered Arizona, kissing just above Callie’s ear. “My middle name’s Marie, for the record.”

“I won’t forget that even though I’m half-asleep,” Callie promised. “I’m not telling mine. Never. Not even if I’m wasted, so don’t try getting me drunk.”

Laughing, Arizona curled her arm under Callie’s neck. “Come on,” she said quietly. “You’re going to pass out. Let’s get upstairs before you get too comfy.”

“Okay, but I want to sleep with you,” requested Callie. “You’re good to sleep with.”

Arizona was chuckling as she gently coaxed Callie to sit up, pulling the brunette’s arm around her shoulders. “Thank you. You are too. Now, lean on me, okay?” She led Callie to the stairs, arm curled around the brunette’s waist. Callie shuffled up the stairs and down the hall to Arizona’s bedroom, groaning when the blonde wouldn’t let her just flop into bed.

“You need pjs,” she said, both hands on her shoulders to steady her. “Can you stay on your feet?”

One brown eye cracked open. “I’m not incompetent. I’m just sleepy.” 

Arizona’s eyes widened as Callie pulled her t-shirt over her head without a second of hesitation. “Oh God.” She swallowed hard, her throat suddenly dry as a bone. No one was this sexy, were they? It was just not possible that one person could be so damn sexy. She spun quickly when Callie reached behind her for the clasp of her bra. If they weren’t having sex tonight, she couldn’t see any more. And Callie was too tired for sex. Sleeping, just sleeping, would be enough for tonight.

“Here.” She held her soft, gray, much washed USMC t-shirt blindly out behind her. It had been inherited from her brother, so it was huge on her and she had a sneaking suspicion that it would look divine on Callie. “Do you want some shorts?”

“That would be great,” came the answer from behind her. “Thank you.”

She turned as she handed over the short shorts, selfishly picking a pair that she knew would highlight Callie’s spectacular ass. She comforted herself with the reminder that they were also her most comfortable pair of shorts. She was being sweet, really. And the sight of Callie in her favorite t-shirt was her reward for being such a saint. And sainthood was what she qualified for since she was going to keep hands off of Callie all night. Her shirt hit the Latina right above mid-thigh, leaving the positive miles of her legs bare and begging to be touched.

Callie’s smile seemed to suggest that she could read Arizona’s thoughts as she pulled on the shorts and leaned over to pick up her discarded clothes. Arizona took them from her, setting them aside on the chair against the wall. “There, pajamas are on. Can I get in the bed now?”

“Sure, sweetie.” The pet name slipped out without thought, but Callie either didn’t notice or didn’t mind it because she didn’t protest. She slid underneath the blankets and moved into the middle of the mattress. Arizona clicked the lights off and the room was only lit with moonlight slated through the blinds on the windows. Sliding in beside Callie, Arizona was immediately pulled into the brunette’s arms, plush lips dropping a kiss on her shoulder and sighing. “Good night, Calliope.”


	4. Chapter 4

Callie woke up slowly, remembering where she was before she opened her eyes. It smelled like Arizona. She liked it. Her apartment mostly still smelled like cleaning supplies. Blonde hair was tousled, but Arizona didn’t stir as Callie sat up and stretched. Her stomach growled and she slipped out from under the sheets, leaving Arizona sleeping in the bed.

Padding downstairs, Callie rooted through the fridge for breakfast. She found supplies, Arizona’s fridge more stocked than her own was. Of course, if she spent all her time over here at Arizona’s house, she’d never have an opportunity to shop for herself. And it would make the rent she was paying a waste, too. She’d been doing an admirable job of keeping the reality of her situation out of mind, but it only seemed to work when Arizona was around. Everything about the blonde made her feel better about the mess that had become her life.

She was scrambling eggs when someone entered the kitchen behind her. “What about going to the movies on Tuesday after breakfast?” she asked without turning. “Or did you have something in mind?”

Alex Karev joined her at the stove, peeking over her shoulder and sipping coffee. “We’re going out now? I thought you were going out with Robbins…”

“I thought you were Arizona,” Callie said, rolling her eyes. “You want some breakfast, Karev?”

“Sweet!” he crowed, snagging a piece of toast from a plate next to the stove. “Thanks! You’re a keeper. If Arizona screws it up, any chance you…”

“Finish that sentence and you’re with Stark for the rest of the week,” Arizona threatened from the doorway, entering and crossing the kitchen. “Good morning,” she greeted them. “You made breakfast?”

Nodding, Callie turned her head to kiss her quickly, handing a plate to Arizona. “Eggs and bacon and toast. You don’t mind, do you? I found the stuff in the fridge.”

“No, it’s great! Thank you.” Alex had his mouth full of toast and he reached around Arizona to pluck up some bacon for himself. “Okay, take it to the table, grabby hands!” Pushing the plate of bacon into his chest, she shooed him away from the stove. “How’d you sleep?” she asked, lowering her voice.

Callie smiled sideways, bumping her with an elbow. “Really good. Like a coma, good. Your bed is really comfy.” Her voice dropped and she glanced over her shoulder to where Alex Karev was stuffing his face. “The company was great, too. Thank you for letting me stay.”

“Oh, please, it was my pleasure.” Arizona bobbed her eyebrows playfully.

“You should go get some food before your boy eats it all,” Callie warned her, nodding toward the table. “I’ll be right there with the eggs. You like scrambled eggs, don’t you? I could do something else with them…”

“Scrambled is perfect, Calliope,” Arizona interjected. “You didn’t have to cook.”

“You two make out already!” Alex grumbled from the table, his mouth full of bacon.

“One more word out of you and you’re on Stark’s service for the rest of the month.” Arizona pointed at him sternly. “And stop eating all the food!”

Callie rolled her eyes at their familiar teasing, obviously a common occurrence between them. It made her wonder how Arizona and her brother got along with each other. Then she wondered if she’d ever get to meet Arizona’s family. It was too soon to be thinking about that, though. She’d have to sort out her mess before she could take a step like that with Arizona. It wouldn’t be fair to the blonde. And it wouldn’t be fair to how she already knew she could feel about Arizona. It wasn’t love, not yet, but she could feel how easily, how quickly, it could become something real. She resolved to call her lawyer again as soon as she had time.

“Calliope?” Arizona’s voice snapped her back to the present and she realized that she’d been zoning out. “Are you okay?” She snaked a hand in to turn off the eye of the stove as the eggs in the pan started to steam harder.

Twitching in reaction, Callie shook her head. “Sorry! I’m sorry! I just… phased out for a second.”

“Is everything okay?” Arizona asked, frowning lightly. “You look kind of…”

“It’s nothing,” interjected the brunette quickly. “Hey, would you want to go to the movies on Tuesday, maybe? After breakfast?”

The frown hadn’t entirely faded, but the blonde’s face relaxed slightly. “Sure. That would be great! And I’d love to show you around the city if you haven’t had a tour yet.”

“Perfect.” Callie smiled and Alex audibly gagged from the table.

“Karev…”

“That wasn’t a word!” he protested before his boss could rebuke him. “I didn’t say anything!”

“Pushing it,” Arizona warned him. “Who are you sleeping with this week, anyway?”

He smirked as she took the seat across from him. “Don’t worry, I know the rules. No one from Peds. She’s a third year in Derm.”

“Do you even know her name?” Arizona shot him a look, head shaking from side to side when he just shrugged. “Then you don’t get to comment on who I’m seeing.” Callie joined them at the table and set the plate of eggs in the center. Arizona smacked Alex’s hand away from the serving spoon. “Especially not when she makes us breakfast,” she reminded him pointedly. “Callie, please, go ahead.” Alex glared good-naturedly at the blonde, huffing as he leaned back in his seat in a slouch. “Don’t even pout at me. You know we never eat so good in the mornings.”

“Because you don’t cook breakfast! You just buy those Pop Tart things!”

“You’re the one who eats them all!” Arizona countered. “And I let you live here! I don’t have to cook for you, Alex! Just because I’m the woman in the house…”

Callie’s quiet laugh interrupted them. “Do you two go back and forth like that all the time?” she asked curiously. “It’s cute, really.” Arizona and Alex exchanged looks and both grimaced simultaneously. “Or not?”

“You’re new around here,” Alex advised gruffly, but it was clear that he was fond of his mentor, even if he didn’t wanted it pointed out. “You’ll get used to it if you can stand sticking around Robbins that long.” Arizona stomped on his foot under the table and he twitched in reaction.

“Hello?” Teddy’s voice called from the front of the house.

“In the kitchen,” Arizona raised her voice to call back. “Callie made breakfast!”

Teddy’s eyebrows were raised as she turned the corner into the hall. “Callie is here,” she said slowly, smiling in greeting. “Good morning, Callie.”

The brunette nodded, feeling nervous for some reason. These were Arizona’s friends, by all indications, her best friends. She didn’t want them to think poorly of her. She didn’t want Arizona to think poorly of her. The truth would need to come out, and sharing it herself rather than letting it come out some other way would be better. But this was still new, still fresh, and refreshing, and everything she’d been missing at home. She didn’t want to risk giving it up yet. She wasn’t ready. And nothing was finalized back in Florida. Except that she wasn’t going back.

“Calliope?”

Arizona’s soft question made her realize that she’d done it again, and Callie shook her head. “Sorry. Good morning, Teddy.”

The other two exchanged confused looks, Arizona leaning in closer. “Hey…”

“I’m sorry, I just,” she shook her head, “I think I’m getting a headache or something.” She caught Arizona’s wrist as the blonde immediately started to stand up. “It’s okay.”

A frown was creasing the other woman’s forehead, and she pushed Callie’s hand off. “Trust me, I’ve got a cure for that.” Her hand held Callie into the chair, touch sliding across the back of her shoulders. “Just give me a second.” Returning with a mug of steaming coffee, Arizona retook her seat while Teddy and Alex ribbed each other across the table. “Drink this. The caffeine will help. And there’s ibuprofen if you want some.”

She dutifully obeyed, sipping the coffee until Arizona’s eyes shifted off of her. “Thank you.”

“Are you guys working today?” Teddy asked politely.

“I’m going in at nine, so I’ve got to go,” Alex said, standing up. “Torres, thanks for breakfast. I’m out!”

“Learn that girl’s name!” Arizona ordered him as he ran off. “And check on the quarantine kids!”

“I’m on it, boss!”

Teddy shook her head, looking over her shoulder at his retreat. “He’s got another new girl? You two are lucky there’s no crossover in targets between you.” She rolled her eyes. “Women of Seattle, beware.”

Callie snorted a laugh and Arizona glared at her friend. “Alex can go after whoever he wants. I just want him to remember their names. I’m trying to help the female gender. He’s a good guy - most of the time. I’m just helping.” Blue eyes shot sideways at Callie. “And as for the other women of Seattle, I think I’m going to be pretty focused on one target.” Callie’s smile was genuine and it made Arizona’s heart beat a bit faster. Whatever had distracted her seemed to have passed for the moment.

Dropping one hand below the table, Callie rubbed her palm over the blonde’s knee. “Focused is good,” she said softly. 

Arizona leaned in to kiss her, ignoring Teddy’s groan from the other side of the table. Callie sucking on her lip was unexpected with the audience, but not unwelcome by any means. “What are you doing to me?” she murmured against supple lips.

“I don’t know,” Callie whispered, knowing exactly what the blonde meant. This thing between them was strong, rising fast, and irrepressible as the tide.

Teddy cleared her throat pointedly and the two retreated from each other. “Okay, I can feel that from over here, so I’m going to need you two to stop torturing the poor single woman, please.”

“Sorry,” Arizona muttered. “What are you doing over here, anyway? You don’t normally have time to visit your poor old best friend before work.”

The heart surgeon rolled her eyes. “You’re getting laid. I have no sympathy for you, Robbins.”

“We just slept,” insisted the blonde. “I made dinner, we watched TV, and Callie passed out in my bed.”

“And in your clothes, apparently,” Teddy noted, smirking.

“It was just sleep,” Callie stated in agreement. “I was exhausted.” She drained the last of her coffee. “And I’ve also got to be at work at nine and I have to go home and take a shower and change, so I’ve got to go.”

Arizona stood up with her, but hesitated to touch her. Callie fixed that by leaning in and kissing her quickly. “I’ll see you at work?”

“Of course.” Callie nodded. “Teddy, good to see you.”

“Yeah, you too,” she agreed. “You going to join us for lunch or did we scare you off?”

Callie smiled, head bobbing again. “Sure. That will be great.”

She gathered her clothes from upstairs, hearing Arizona and Teddy talking in the kitchen as she left through the front door, the glass rattling lightly in the frame of the windowed door. The first breath of morning air was refreshing and helped resettle her. She felt guilty about hiding the truth from Arizona, but it was entirely too soon to share that part of her life with anyone. And Arizona made her feel good, better than she’d felt in more than a year.

All she could do is keep on her lawyer to get things wrapped up in Miami, then she would tell Arizona everything, come clean.

The next time she was on Arizona’s porch, it was to pick her up on Tuesday for their breakfast date. She knocked politely on the door and could hear the blonde scrambling down the stairs. “Good morning,” Callie greeted her as the door was thrown open, Arizona throwing herself into Callie’s arms so the Latina had to catch her. The kiss was as sudden as the jumping, but no less welcome. Arms tight around her back, Callie kept her pressed against herself while they kissed, deep and slow.

“Good morning!” Arizona echoed cheerfully as Callie set her back on her feet after a few long, slow, deeply pleasurable moments.

“You ready to go?”

Arizona kissed her cheek with a loud smacking sound. “Absolutely. Let’s go!” She took Callie’s hand as they walked toward the driveway, swinging them in between the two of them. “Whoa.” She stopped when she saw Callie’s car. “This is yours? It’s awesome!” She hopped excitedly. “I saw it in the parking lot your first day but I didn’t know it was your first day!” Dragging Callie forward, she circled the car eagerly, inspecting it.

The keys jingled as Callie pulled them out of her pocket. “Well, here,” she offered, handing the keys to Arizona. “You’re driving.” Arizona gaped at her in surprise, jaw dropping. Callie shrugged, pleased with the reaction. “I pretty much only know how to get here and the hospital. So if we’re touring the city, you’re driving. If you want, of course.”

Arizona snatched the keys. “Oh, I want!” she declared. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“So you’re a car fan,” Callie mused, smirk on her lips. “Good to know.”

“Tim trained me,” explained Arizona, still admiring the classic car. “Where’d you get it from? The car love?”

Shrugging, Callie released her hand to go get into her seat. “I just always thought the classics were pretty. And this is pretty much my dream car.” She stroked a hand over the passenger side fender fondly as she moved toward the door. Arizona darted quickly to get it for her, a cheeky grin on her face.

“My lady,” she offered politely. “You’re really going to let me drive your car?” She asked the question even as she shut the passenger door behind Callie.

Callie nodded. “Sure. You can drive stick, right?”

“Yep! My dad taught me! He said I should be able to drive anything. Just in case.” Callie gave her an amused look and the blonde shrugged. “He’s a Marine. He wants me always be over prepared.” She ran quickly around the front of the vehicle to get behind the wheel, dropping her bag in the backseat. “Can we keep the top down?”

“Sure,” Callie agreed. “And how do you over prepare for a tour of the city?”

Arizona looked across the car at her and winked. “I have an unbelievable amount of snacks in my purse. And triple-A.” She laughed. “My dad renews my membership every year for Christmas.”

“Wow,” Callie joined in the laughter. “I guess that is how you over prepare for driving all day. If it helps at all, I’ve got a blanket in the trunk.” She only realized how that sounded when Arizona bobbed her eyebrows at her teasingly. “My sister used to drive it to the beach. I made her cover the seats to keep sand out of my upholstery.”

“Sure, Calliope. I’m sure what that’s what it’s for,” Arizona sarcastically agreed. “I’m sure I can find a way to make it useful.” It was Callie’s turn to raise an eyebrow at her. “Hey! I’m a lady! And I treat my dates like ladies too! I just happen to know where there’s a beautiful view overlooking the city. If we’re still out after dark, we could go.” Her teasing smile gentled, becoming sweet and tentative. “Or we could go some other time.”

Callie’s hand touched hers and Arizona felt her throat dry as the Latina smiled at her. “We can go tonight. The weather looks like it might even cooperate. And if it does drizzle, we could get under the blanket.”

“Great,” Arizona said hoarsely, swallowing hard. “Shall we, then?”

Laughing, Callie withdrew her hand. “Sure.”

Arizona started the engine and let out a squeal of excitement. “I love this car!”

Breakfast, touring, and some regular, old-fashioned tourism, including Callie’s first visit to the Space Needle, ate up the day. The sun was setting as Arizona guided the car out of the city and off the paved road entirely.

“You’re not taking me out to the woods to ditch me and steal my car, are you?” Callie questioned as she looked around at the trees on either side of the narrow dirt path they were following.

“No,” Arizona laughed. “This is Derek and Meredith’s land. He built them a house up here. The view is incredible.”

“And do all the doctors from the hospital bring their dates up here?”

Arizona grinned at her in the dark. “The smart ones. Shepherd doesn’t mind as long as he doesn’t see anything.”

“So we’re going to the Seattle Grace make out spot?”

“We’re going to a hill overlooking the city with a gorgeous view,” Arizona corrected her. She pulled the parking brake and turned the car off. “See?”

Callie couldn’t argue. The night lights of the city were spread out below them and the blanket of stars above them was beautiful. “Wow…”

“I know,” Arizona agreed quietly. She looked over when Callie’s door creaked as she opened it. “Where are you going?”

Reaching over, Callie took the keys out of the ignition and rounded the car to open the trunk. Arizona realized what she was doing when the brunette spread the blanket she retrieved across the hood and windshield. “Come on,” she coaxed, climbing onto the car and leaning back against the windshield.

Arizona put a foot on the tire to hoist herself up, settling beside her on the blanket. Callie’s arm curled around her shoulder and drew her head to rest beside her own. There was quiet as they both admired the view and the peaceful quiet. The moon was full as it rose, but was obscured with clouds as it got higher in the night sky.

Arizona was the one to eventually break the silence, familiar with the change in pressure that signaled an incoming rain. “We should get back inside,” she whispered, not sure if Callie was even awake to hear her. “It’s going to rain.” Callie didn’t answer, just shifted to let Arizona moved if she wanted. “Fine, but I’m at least going to put the top up before it gets soaked.” She slipped off the car carefully, making sure she didn’t scuff the paint with her shoes. The brunette didn’t move as Arizona lifted the car’s ragtop and locked it back into place. It was just in time as the rain started to fall, sprinkle giving way to a hard, heavy downpour in only a few minutes. “Calliope!”

She didn’t move, just tilted her face back into the rain and laughed. “I love it!” she called back. Arizona was standing at the passenger door, shoulders hunched and head ducked as though it could keep her dry at all in the pounding rain. Callie sat up, grinning at her. “Come on!”

“What?” Arizona laughed. “It’s pouring! We’re going to get soaked!”

“So what?” Callie slid off the car and caught the blonde’s hips between her hands. “You don’t like the rain?” Her hair was starting to drip but her eyes were shining and Arizona wasn’t sure she’d ever seen anything so beautiful in her life as a soaking wet Calliope Torres in the middle of the night in the rain.

“No,” answered Arizona distractedly, cocking her head. “I like the rain. I like the rain a lot.” An involuntary shiver slid down her spine as the cold water soaked into her clothes. “You’re kind of crazy,” she said, having to raise her voice to be heard over the loud, heavy downpour.

Callie shrugged, still grinning. “But you’re out here with me, so what does that mean for you?”

Arizona’s dimples popped as she returned the grin. Both hands curled through thick dark hair, pulling Callie into a kiss as she unconsciously pressed the Latina against her car while she kissed her thoroughly. “It means that I appreciate what a wet shirt does for your chest.” Callie threw her head back to laugh and Arizona pushed in closer, hands bunching in Callie’s hair. “And this rain is cold, which is just a bonus,” she added, gratified when it brought Callie’s arms around her back, the brunette kissing her again.

The passion simmered under the surface, but the kiss was languid and slow, a deep exploration that neither felt the need to rush. This kiss made it feel as though they’d have the rest of their lives to kiss just like this.


	5. Chapter 5

Joe’s was crowded when Teddy and Arizona joined the rest of the hospital staff for the Friday night exodus to their favorite bar. “I’ll get drinks, you get a table,” Arizona said, pushing her way through the mass to the bar to order.

Focusing on not spilling their drinks while she picked her way through the crowd, Arizona found Teddy squeezed in at the edge of a booth bench with Alex and Meredith’s sister Lexie, Cristina and Meredith on the other side. 

“Where’s your girlfriend tonight?” Cristina leaned forward to ask her as she and Meredith willingly squeezed together to give Arizona room to join them on the bench.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Arizona corrected her reluctantly. She’d love to be Callie’s girlfriend, but they hadn’t talked about it, had only been going out for a few weeks. But it wasn’t as if they were seeing other people.

“Whatever, Roller-girl,” Cristina scoffed. “You’re all over each other! She’s totally your girlfriend!”

“Shut it, Yang,” ordered the Peds surgeon, rolling her eyes and taking a sip of her drink.

Teddy glanced at something behind Arizona and smirked suddenly. “Well, if you don’t want her to be your girlfriend, I’m sure she could be someone else’s girlfriend…”

Arizona shot a blue-eyed glare at her best friend, Alex laughing into his beer. “I didn’t say I don’t want to be her girlfriend! We just haven’t talked about it. It’s still early…”

“You might not want to take too long to have that talk,” Karev commented, pointing with the neck of his bottle to something behind her, smirking. Teddy glanced sideways at Alex and let her smirk grow as the three women on the other side of the booth twisted in their seats to look.

In the midst of the crowd, no matter that there was no dance floor, Callie Torres was dancing with a rotation of her seemingly endless supply of willing partners, men coming out of the woodwork to dance with the gorgeous Latina. Her body moved in liquid, flowing motions that were completely instinctual and effortless. She was sex on legs and Arizona could feel her mouth go dry as she caught sight of her.

“Damn,” Meredith whispered, eyes wide. “She’s hot.” Tearing her eyes off the enrapturing sight, Arizona glared sideways at her. “I mean, like, almost dirty hot,” the resident clarified. “Seriously, you’re freaking lucky, Arizona.”

Turning her eyes back to the gorgeous spectacle of Callie dancing, Arizona had to agree. She was damn lucky. This woman, this gorgeous goddess, could have anyone she wanted, could have any man in this bar, but she wanted her.

“Are you seriously going to just sit here and just watch her?” Alex asked incredulously, draining his beer. “Because if you’re not going to dance with that, I will.” He made to push Teddy out of the booth so he could get up.

Arizona kicked him sharply under the table, just glaring when he recoiled his leg and cursed through clenched teeth. “Shut it, Karev,” she growled.

“You’re doing a lot of telling people to shut it tonight,” Teddy observed, smirking. “And not much dancing with your woman.”

Grumbling, Arizona rolled her eyes. “She is not my woman. I mean, I wish…”

Cristina groaned impatiently and promptly shoved her right out of the booth, the blonde crashing hard to the peanut littered floor. “Suck it up and dance with her!” she ordered, scooting out so Arizona couldn’t retake her seat.

Looking up, Arizona saw that her fall had disrupted Callie’s dancing, the brunette watching her with a smile on her lips. “I hate you,” she growled at her friends in the booth, all of them laughing. Brushing both hands over her jeans, Arizona stood up, smiling shyly as she approached Callie, the Latina having resumed her moving to the music. “Hey,” she offered sheepishly

Rather than answer her, Callie reached for her, pulling her in. Her body was the perfect contrast of soft and strong and Arizona let herself be moved. Callie pressed herself against the blonde, hands on Arizona’s hips to guide her into the dance. After a moment, Callie smiled, pleased. “You’re good,” she murmured approvingly. Arizona promptly stepped on her foot and blushed brightly. “No, it’s okay,” Callie coaxed, not letting her pull away. “Don’t worry about your feet. Look at me.”

Callie coached her through a spin, catching the blonde with her back against her front. Warm lips kissed the side of Arizona’s neck lightly, hands at her waist to guide her into a playful shimmy. “I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight,” Arizona gasped, her eyes fighting to stay open. Contact between them was hot, electric. And the fact that they were in public was making her crazy when all she wanted to do was turn around and do things that would certainly get them kicked out of the bar, if not arrested outright.

“Surprise,” Callie murmured into her ear, smiling against her skin.

“How long have you been here?”

Spinning her again, they returned to face to face, Callie smiling warmly at her. “Just a little bit. Do you want to get out of here?”

“If you want to keep dancing…”

Callie nodded, lowering them at a slow, side to side pace, one of her knees slipping in between Arizona’s legs and making her blue eyes roll back in her head. “As a matter of fact, I would like to keep dancing.” She snuck a kiss to Arizona’s lips. “With you. Privately.”

Blue eyes widened slightly in understanding and more than a little bit of desire. “Well,” she said, swallowing, “I’d be happy to walk you home,” she proposed, breathing shakily. Callie knew exactly how to push her buttons. She didn’t even have to try.

Callie smirked triumphantly, lacing their fingers and leading Arizona back past their friends’ table, none of them bothering to hide their knowing looks. Arizona plucked up her glass and finished it in two long swallows. “Later,” Callie said, ignoring their smiles and steering Arizona toward the door as the blonde put her empty glass back down on the table.

The air was damp, close to rain, as they reached the top of the stairs to street level, Callie holding Arizona’s hand at her side while they walked, exchanging almost shy glances now that they were out of the heated, close air of the bar and into the warm, fresh air of the Seattle night. Arizona’s breath came more steadily and Callie smugly smiled. “You okay?” she checked considerately.

Arizona just squeezed her hand, shooting a look sideways at her. “You know just how hot you are, Calliope Torres. Don’t even fake like you don’t.”

“I like that I turn you on,” Callie said, her own sideways glance catching Arizona’s eye. “Because you are sexy as hell, so fair is fair.” 

A dimpled smirk was her reward, Arizona swinging their hands in between them. “So, do you dance it out at Joe’s after work often?” she asked without thought. Of course, she wanted to know if the moves she’d seen tonight were a common occurrence and she’d somehow been missing out.

“Dance it out?” Amused, Callie sent her a crooked smirk. God, she was beautiful.

“That’s what Cristina calls it.” Blue eyes rolled as Arizona pictured her former roommates dancing wildly in their living room with a bottle of tequila and loud music. “She and Meredith do it as stress relief. Just turn up the music and pull out the tequila and jump around.”

Callie smirked. “Dance it out… I like that,” she declared. She could easily picture Arizona doing just that, blonde curls bouncing as she moved, legs that drove her crazy, everything about her that drove her crazy, really. “So, will you dance it out with me upstairs?” Callie requested as they crossed the street to her building.

“Definitely, if you dance like you did at Joe’s. Because that was… something else.” There were no words in her brain at the moment to describe how enrapturing she found Callie Torres. She wondered if Callie could see it in her eyes how she affected her. Because there was no denying that she did.

“That’s the only way I dance, baby,” Callie promised lightly, one eyebrow arching as they entered the elevator. Arizona’s wanting groan came from her chest and she didn’t hesitate to wind her hands in dark hair, kissing Callie firmly, tongue slipping between full lips. The brunette curled both arms around her waist as she sucked on the new arrival, taking a quick step forward to press Arizona against the wall of the elevator.

The door chime didn’t prompt anything but a change in angle, Callie guiding them blindly backwards and out of the elevator in the direction of her apartment without giving up kissing Arizona. Planting her against the wall next the door, they separated to catch their breath, Arizona eagerly digging the keys out of Callie’s tight front pocket.

“Arizona…” the Latina growled warningly. Hands in her pants, even in the context of getting her keys out of her pocket, was too much right now. She fully intended to take the blonde to bed tonight, but she was enjoying the flirty fun of dancing. They had all night to get each other’s pants off. “Behave yourself.”

Blue eyes, darkened with want, just sparkled wickedly at her. “I don’t think you really want that, Calliope.”

She snuck another brief kiss, almost chaste. “I really don’t.” Dimples popped in victory. “But I would really love to dance it out with you.”

The smile didn’t falter, just softened. “Of course we’re going to dance. We might be dancing every day from now on now that I know how utterly gorgeous you look moving like that.” She winked playfully and Callie raised an eyebrow at her. “And you’re gorgeous when you’re not dancing, but…”

Callie got her door opened and stepped back to free Arizona from the wall, letting her into the apartment. “I’ll take it as a complement?”

“You definitely should, Calliope,” Arizona said, passing her with a proud smile and going straight to the stereo. Kicking her shoes off, she clicked through a few songs as Callie moved her coffee table, giving them more room to move and less chance that either one of them would end up back at the hospital tonight. They might be falling down later, but it wasn’t going to be because they tripped over some stupid table.

Catching the beat, Arizona jumped to the music, a happy grin on her face. “Calliope!” she called, waving her forward. “Dance it out!”

Matching her grin, Callie obeyed, bobbing to the music. They danced around each other, reacting to the moves of the other but only touching lightly to ensure that there were no collisions. Arizona was a treat to watch while she danced - playful, and carefree, and as unselfconscious as she was when she did anything else while she moved to the music, never losing her grin. Callie could only hope that watching her dance was half as good for Arizona as watching Arizona was for her. She could definitely watch this every day and not mind it at all.

They’d danced through more than a half dozen songs before Arizona flopped back onto the couch to catch her breath, smiling peacefully up at Callie as she made herself comfortable. Callie could feel the eyes tracking her but it didn’t make her self-conscious, just comfortable and warm. She found Arizona’s gaze. Very warm. She felt very warm.

“You know, I could use a drink,” Callie commented, her voice unintentionally hoarse with arousal. Tearing her eyes off the vision of a breathless Arizona Robbins on her sofa, she forced herself to look away. Her first instinct was to do something to make her even more breathless. So she turned her back and went quickly to the kitchen for water. “Wine?”

Arizona’s voice was husky behind her and a shiver went down her spine. “Water’s fine, Calliope.” The tone of her voice made it clear that she knew her affect on the other woman. Callie was concentrating on the glasses of water so hard that she didn’t hear Arizona rise from the couch, jumping when arms slid around her. “It’s just me,” she whispered, leaning her head against the back of Callie’s shoulder.

“I’m glad it’s you.” Callie carefully held the glass of water up for Arizona to take.

Swallowing a sip, Arizona leaned against the brunette’s back, pressing her against the counter. “So you’ve had lots of other people over here?” They hadn’t discussed exclusivity, but she couldn’t help herself asking.

Brown eyes rolled. “Don’t be ridiculous.” She was glad it was Arizona hugging her in her kitchen because she wanted it to be Arizona in her kitchen. But they hadn’t talked about it. They were still just casual. She was really starting to hate that word though, hate the feeling that Arizona could being going out with someone else on nights she wasn’t with her. Of course, Arizona had given her no indication that she had any desire to go out with anyone else, but she couldn’t help wondering if she would. Because clearly there would be women lining up to date Arizona Robbins.

Hearing her answer, Arizona couldn’t help a breath of relief. Anyone else sniffing around Calliope would make her crazy. But there would be people eager to take her place, she knew.

Instead of talking about it though, Callie just turned as she finished her water, cupping the blonde’s face with both hands and kissing her slowly, the passionate heat that had been simmering between them all night building back up in the space of a few heartbeats. That’s how it always was between them - the shocking heat, the feeling, was always just beneath the surface. It was like no other relationship she’d ever been in.

Arizona’s glass almost promptly fell over as she unsteadily put it down blindly on the counter. Thankfully, it was empty and didn’t make a mess. Strong Ortho hands slid over her sides, teasing the swell of her breasts and her sides, all the way down to her hips, gripping the back of her thighs to haul the blonde’s body tight against her own.

“Calliope,” Arizona ground out, fingers bunching in soft, dark hair. “I’ve been going crazy for you since I first saw you tonight!” She leaned in to nip sharply at her neck. “Take me to bed, already!” She squealed when strong arms hoisted her off the ground and carried her obligingly toward the bedroom.

Dropping her to the bed, Callie grinned as her blonde lover bounced against the mattress. Arizona immediately sat up to push the standing Callie’s shirt up her body, dragging warm, wet kisses across her skin. “Off,” she demanded between sucking kisses when she couldn’t reach high enough to strip if off herself without standing up. She wanted to stay exactly where she was, worshiping the softest skin she’d ever touched.

Callie obeyed and did her one better, removing her bra at the same time. Arizona leaned back to get a better view. “You are so fucking hot,” she moaned appreciatively, hand shifting to the waist of her pants. She needed her naked now. And inside her.

Tan hands stripped the blonde’s shirt over her head before moving to squeeze and roll her breasts. “Arizona…” she gasped, needy.

Arizona groaned out her agreement, “Naked.” Callie’s jeans fell past her knees and Arizona yanked her panties down to follow them to the ground, the brunette stepping clear of her clothes willingly.

“Now you,” Callie pleaded, glad when Arizona undid her own pants and lifted her hips to shove them off to join her own scattered mess of clothing. She disposed of the remaining bra herself, tossing it uncaringly over her shoulder.

Catching the back of her neck, Arizona hauled her into a deep, wild kiss. Callie’s hands on her hips lifted her suddenly and shifted her backward into the middle of the bed, taking immediate advantage of the added space and stretching her body out on top of her prone lover. Not in the mood for teasing after their night of dancing, Callie’s fingers went straight for Arizona’s clit. Even she was surprised by the wetness she found waiting on her. “Holy shit,” she gasped into the kiss, tearing her mouth away to speak and breathing hard.

“I’ve been like that since the bar. You’re sexy when you dance,” Arizona explained through breathless panting, her body arching into the electric contact of Callie’s fingers almost where she needed them to be. “Please,” she desperately pleaded. “In, please, I need…” Callie kissed her again as two fingers slid home, curling instantly and driving her impossibly higher. “Fuck!” Arizona ground out into a necessary gap for air, her hips rolling into the quick, hard thrusts Callie was giving her. This wasn’t going to take much.

“Come for me,” the Latina gasped, her body shifting quickly to back her thrusts. They might not have had the talk about seeing other people, about what rights now belonged to only them, but she was damn well going to make sure that Arizona felt it. Only she could touch her like this. Only she could make her feel like this. Her thumb on the blonde’s needy clit finished her off, Arizona burying her face in her shoulder to muffle the pleasured cry.

Callie felt lips attach and suck on her skin at her throat, contact she was sure would leave a mark. She wasn’t the only one marking her territory, apparently. She just hoped Arizona’s more noticeable mark would be hidden by her shirt tomorrow at work. Arizona could just make something up about why she would be walking funny.

Going limp in bliss, Arizona gave her hickey a final lick of approval and flopped back against the bed. Callie pulled out slowly and her body mourned the loss. “Damn,” she gasped, breathing hard. “Thank you.”

Callie laughed, trailing her fingers up still clenching stomach muscles and between perfect breasts to suck the remnants of Arizona’s orgasm from them. “My pleasure,” she promised in a hum. And it would be because she intended to retrace the path her hand had just taken back down the blonde’s body with her mouth just as soon as she was sure that Arizona wouldn’t stop breathing and pass out. “I’ll give you a minute before the encore,” she said with a smug smile, loving Arizona’s blue eyes going wide. She couldn’t say it, but she was going to give Arizona no reason to think she needed to look anywhere else for anything she needed.


	6. Chapter 6

Flipping through the new charts at the nurses’ station on the Peds floor, a particular name jumped out at Arizona and she pulled the chart out. “Excuse me, is this some kind of joke?” she requested, displaying the name to the nurse behind the desk. “Because she’s an adult.”

The nurse obliged her by leaning forward to read the chart. “No joke. Dr. Bailey admitted her this morning.”

“And no one told me?” Arizona demanded, frowning. “What room is she in?”

“Third down on the left.”

Arizona didn’t even bother with the wheels in her heels, just ran down the hall and had to catch herself on the doorframe as she almost dashed right past it. “Oh, thank God it’s you!” Callie said gratefully from the bed, pausing in the middle of trying to rip gauze bandages that were wrapped around both hands off with her teeth. “Get these things off of me!” she pleaded.

“What are you doing in here?! Bailey admitted you to Peds? Why?!” The reason was immediately apparent as she really looked at Callie’s face, the red, itchy spots obvious even through her olive complexion. “You have chicken pox?!”

“Apparently,” Callie grumbled, resuming her efforts to pull the wrapping off her hand. “Can you help me with these gauze-paws, please?”

“How long have you been here?” Arizona questioned, moving forward to check her readings and testing Callie’s forehead for fever with the back of her hand. “You’re still warm, sweetie.” They’d been dating for more than two months and pet names were becoming more common. “How did this happen?” Callie tried to pinch the tip of the taped mitten between her knees and pulled back against it, attempting to pull it off that way. “Stop doing that!” Arizona chided, finally noticing. “Who did that to you?”

Callie glared at her as though she’d done it herself. “Your boy Karev.”

“Well, good.” Callie’s glare sharpened and she jerked her head petulantly away from the blonde’s cool hand. “It’ll keep you from scratching.”

“I want to scratch! It itches, Arizona!” whined the brunette.

“You can’t scratch,” Arizona patiently countered. “It’ll bleed, get infected, and scar. Will you please tell me how you ended up in my ward, now?” Callie was still grumbling under her breath, but her pout softened as Arizona settled on the side of the bed. “Don’t growl at me like that, Calliope,” she requested, tone mild. “I’m just curious how my girlfriend ends up on my floor and no one paged me.”

The Latina’s expression went slack for a few seconds, a slow smile growing in place of her previous frustrated expression. Well, that was an interesting slip of the tongue, wasn’t it? They hadn’t had the talk yet, but they hadn’t been seeing other people either. She certainly felt like Arizona’s girlfriend, wanted to be Arizona’s girlfriend, just hadn’t brought it up. After everything in Florida, learning that Arizona wasn’t as in this as she was would be enough to make her swear off dating for at least the next year. And her life couldn’t really be that much of a disaster, could it? So she’d held her tongue, even with no indication that the blonde was anything but crazy about her.

“Girlfriend?” she asked, not bothering to hide her hopefulness. Arizona blinked as she realized what she’d said. Shit. They’d started using pet names, but the term girlfriend hadn’t come up yet. Even though they’d both been wanting to bring it up. “Am I your girlfriend?”

A matching smile grew on the blonde’s face. “Yes?” At least, she hoped she hadn’t just made a giant ass of herself.

The way she said it made it sound like a question and Callie laughed. “Yes,” she confirmed, growling again when her attempt to grab the collar of Arizona’s scrubs and haul her in was foiled by the utter lack of coordination provided by her covered hands. “I know there are rules against kissing patients, but you need to kiss me right now.”

It was clearly not something Arizona was allowed to argue with, and the Peds surgeon grinned. “You’re in my ward, but you’re not my patient,” she reasoned, leaning forward. “You’re my girlfriend.” Their lips met softly, but Arizona broke away to giggle when Callie’s bandaged hands scratched against her face.

“It’s not funny,” declared Callie, grumpy again. “You can get me out of here, right? Let me go home?”

Arizona leaned back cautiously, hesitating. “You’re contagious, Calliope.” Brown eyes narrowed at her and the blonde stood up in reaction, unconsciously fearful. “You need to stay in here and not scratch, okay?”

“Are you backing away from me?” Callie frowned, cocking her head to the side to rub her ear against her shoulder in a search for relief from the itchiness. “Arizona Robbins!”

“I’m sorry!” the blonde yelped. “Stop scratching!”

“I’m rubbing!” countered Callie angrily. “Why are you backing away from me?” The annoyance faded from her expression slowly. “Are you going to catch it or something?” Arizona shook her head. “Why are you running away from me, then?”

Arizona blew her a kiss with both hands, still backing away slowly. “I wish I could stay, really, but I’ve got to round on some other patients.” Even as she made her excuse, Alex Karev led a line of interns into Callie’s room. “Or we’re rounding on you now.” She shot a look at her student. “Seriously? She’s not even a surgical patient!” she hissed under her breath as she shoved the chart into his chest.

He made a show of grinning at them both. “Bailey told me to keep her here. We’re the best equipped to deal with contagious disease. And don’t you want Torres to have the best medical care available?”

“If you’re telling me that your interns are the best medical care available, Karev…” Callie grumbled.

“We could turf you to Psych if you’re not enjoying your stay in the surgical wing,” Alex offered with a smirk. “Jones, present!”

Callie rolled her eyes as the intern rattled off her statistics and symptoms and suggested a treatment of bed rest and calamine lotion. “I’m going to kick both of your butts as soon as I can get out of here,” she promised quietly when Arizona leaned over to kiss her forehead goodbye.

“Be good and you’ll get a personal look at my bedside manner,” Arizona whispered back, teasing. Her eyebrows bobbed as she backed away. “I’ve got to go on rounds right now but I swear I’ll be back as soon as I can. Can I bring you anything?”

Callie’s head shook from side to side. “I’ll be fine. I’m actually really tired. And Teddy said she’d bring me something to read once she gets out of surgery.”

Arizona threw her hands up in exasperation. “How did all of our friends know you were in here and no one told me?!”

“Guess they just all like me better,” Callie teased, winking and rubbing at her face with her wrapped hands.

Arizona wisely fled without a comeback before the groan of frustration could escape.

When she returned after her last surgery of the day, Callie was on her side, back to the door, and it wasn’t immediately clear if she was asleep or awake. She shifted when Arizona slipped onto the bed behind her. “Mmh, what are you doing?” she murmured, moving to give the blonde more space. Then hands were rubbing circles down her arms, the gentle pressure soothing the incessant itching. “Oh my God,” she gasped breathlessly, body pushing back into Arizona’s instinctually in an effort to get more contact, more heat, more pressure.

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.”

Laughing quietly, Arizona leaned over to speak into her ear. “You’re very sweet, but Arizona is just fine.”

“Rubbing! More rubbing,” Callie pleaded, breathing hard. “God, it feels so good! Arizona!”

The blonde nudged against the back of her neck, grateful that she could do something to bring Callie some relief. “I won’t stop, babe. It’s okay.” Her voice was barely audible, just slow, soft, warm breaths against the back of her ear, the light contact drawing a strangled groan from Callie.

“Your bedside manner is incredible,” she ground out between clenched teeth, struggling against the many sensations sending streaks of lightning through her entire body. “Better not be this incredible with anyone else.” Arizona’s touch was setting her on fire. She was going to combust, she was sure of it. No one could be this warm and not be on fire.

Then lips touched her neck and she could have exploded. She couldn’t have said where she was or what day it was, she just knew that Arizona was the only person in her life that had ever made her feel anything like what she was feeling now. And it wasn’t the fever boiling her blood. It wasn’t the itching that was driving her out of her mind. Anyone else rubbing her itchy pox would feel good she was sure, but it was knowing that it was Arizona touching her that made the sensation completely out of this world

“Turn over and I’ll get the other side,” Arizona coaxed, dragging her lips across Callie’s ear. Callie reacted like she’d been shocked, shifting to her other side in a heartbeat and capturing Arizona’s lips without a second of hesitation. The kiss almost knocked the unprepared blonde off the bed and she clung to the front of Callie’s shirt to keep from pitching over the side. Callie’s tongue in her mouth was surprising, but not unwelcome. However, the gauze-paws on her face distracted her again, making her laugh unwittingly.

Callie growled as the kiss broke, a giggling blonde head burying itself in her chest. Before she could protest though, Arizona’s hand was resuming the soothing pressure down her arm. “You could cover more ground if I was on my back,” the Latina suggested, voice thick and hoarse.

Arizona lifted her head to smirk, shaking her head in warning. “You know I would love that,” oh how she would love that, “but I don’t think it’s wise to give my boss who hates me a free opportunity to catch us in the act.”

Grumbling, Callie scowled. “Damn Stark. I’ve got freaking chicken pox and now I get no loving. This is not fair!” After a moment, her pout relaxed. “Do you need to get out of bed? This isn’t the most professional thing we’ve done in the hospital.”

“But it’s not the least professional thing we’ve done in the hospital,” countered Arizona with a smile. “Remember that time in the nursery supply room?”

Callie could feel her blush even through the heat of her fever, memories of them almost getting caught with their hands in the other’s scrubs flashing through her mind. “So close to so many babies,” she mused thoughtfully. “It’s not right.”

“We haven’t gone there again,” Arizona offered in comfort, laughing helplessly. “We restrain ourselves to non-child populated floors.”

“Which means we cannot have sex in this bed.” Callie sighed overdramatically. “But you owe me when you let me out of here!”

Arizona agreeably nodded. “Deal.” Her hands were tracing random invisible patterns across arms and hips and legs. “How are you feeling?”

Shifting under her lover’s hands, Callie’s moan was an answer in itself. “I’m going to need you to never stop touching me,” she requested. “It’s like I’m burning up.”

“I think that’s mostly the fever, sweetheart.”

A quick rap on the glass door of Callie’s quarantine room made them both sigh in frustration and Arizona sat up as they heard the hiss of the door sliding open. Alex Karev’s voice was quiet from the other side of the curtain. “Sorry, Stark’s coming. Just wanted to warn you.”

“Is he looking for me?” Arizona exchanged glances with Callie.

“I think so,” he said regretfully. “Something about charts. Some intern did something on them that he doesn’t like so he needs someone to bitch at.”

“Can’t you take it? I’ll owe you,” offered Arizona desperately.

“It’s your turn,” he countered. “I got reamed for that infant open heart surgery we didn’t call him in on yesterday.”

Cursing under her breath, Arizona offered Callie an apologetic look. “Go ahead,” Callie said, nodding her head toward the door. “I’ll be fine.” They kissed quickly before Arizona slid off the bed, the blonde laughing again as Callie tried and failed to touch her face through the wrapping on her hands. “It’s not funny,” she growled, Arizona giggling as she edged toward the door.

“I know, I know, it’s not funny.” Arizona gave her a dimpled smile in an attempt to appease her girlfriend. “I’ll come in before rounds tomorrow? Bring you breakfast?”

“You’d better,” grumbled Callie. “Leaving me in here with these stupid things on my hands,” she could hear Alex laugh from the hall, “I know where you live, Karev!” she called more loudly.

Arizona shook her head with a laugh. “Okay, well you get some rest and please try not to scratch.” She blew a kiss across the room. “Good night, Calliope.”

Callie’s smile was soft as she met Arizona’s eyes. “Good night, Arizona.”

Arizona’s smile lasted until she slid the door closed behind her only to turn around and be face to face with Stark. Karev was nowhere in sight. The coward. “Ah, Dr. Stark, good evening.” He just eyed her with an unpleasant expression on his face. “Is there something I can do for you?” she asked cautiously, sure she was going to regret asking.

“I have a question for you, Dr. Robbins,” he started, superior tone already in place. He started walking down the hall, obviously expecting her to follow him. “Do you feel it’s appropriate to spend personal time in a patient’s room?” She opened her mouth to speak, but he was continuing before she could explain. “And particularly on a floor populated mostly with impressionable children?”

“Excuse me?” Arizona questioned, brows drawn together as she frowned at his implication.

He waved off her concern with a scoff. “Please, Dr. Robbins. I know you like to consider me a heartless, severe man because I do my work and only my work, but I’ll remind you of just that fact before you accuse me of judging your relationship with Dr. Torres.” His face was still serious and stern. “I don’t care what you do with Dr. Torres. I care only that it is happening on my Peds floor. And while she is admitted as a patient.” Turning on his heel, he was walking away before she could come up with a rejoinder.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket and Arizona picked it up, trying to figure out if she was more stunned or annoyed until she saw the caller ID. “I’m right outside your room, are you okay?”

“Did Stark bust you?” Callie was whispering and her voice was muffled.

“Are you hiding under the covers?” Arizona asked instead, laughing despite herself.

“I don’t want to get busted too! It’s not my fault if you can’t sneak out of your girlfriend’s room without getting caught! What did you learn in high school?”

“Calliope…” There was muffled laughing on the other end of the line. “Do you need anything? I’ll come back.”

Pillows and sheets swished softly as Callie moved in the bed. “I want you to, but no,” she finally said softly. “You don’t need to get in any more trouble because of me. But don’t forget about my breakfast.”

Arizona couldn’t help laughing, keeping herself quiet in deference to the sleeping children. “Of course not. You get some rest, okay? I’ll see you in the morning.”

“ I lo-” Callie stopped herself abruptly, yawning suddenly to cover the words she wasn’t ready to say yet. Whoa. Figure out the girlfriend thing and later the same day bust out the three little words? It was too fast. And it couldn’t be that easy… Or could it? Was anything in her life allowed to be so simple? Leave home for Seattle, get drunk with the hot blonde who’d flirted with her in the bar, find out that she worked at the same hospital and ask her out…

And then somewhere in the rush of surgery and dates and sex and getting to know the truly incredible Arizona Robbins, she’d come to need her, without even realizing it. But it wasn’t something she could just say, was it? It had been so long since she’d actually told another person that she loved them… And was what she felt for Arizona love? Could it happen that fast? And so simply? Nothing in her life had ever been as simple as falling for Arizona.

She had always been the first one to say it before, though, and it had always burned her. She knew she fell into things too fast, she always had. But for the first time, it didn’t feel like she was dancing on the edge of something dangerous. Passionate and intense, yes, but simultaneously comfortable and steady.

Still, she bit her tongue.

“Good night, Arizona.” Her yawn covered the gap and if her girlfriend had noticed the strange silence, she didn’t say a word.

“Good night, Calliope.”


	7. Chapter 7

Arizona tousled her hair as she released it from the braids she wore under her scrub cab. Karev really was coming along. She’d barely had anything to do in surgery. For four hours. He gave her a happy grin as he came out of the scrub room and they exchanged high-fives. “Great job, Karev. You rocked it.”

“Thanks,” he said earnestly. “I’m going to go take a shower and then I’ll go sit on the post-ops.”

She gave him a nod, laughing. “Take your time, Alex. You’ve earned a few minutes to relax. And those post-ops won’t be ready for a while.” She clapped a hand to his shoulder. “Good work.”

He grinned as he turned to jog toward the locker room, sidestepping quickly around Callie as she entered the OR hallway. “Hey, Torres! See ya later!”

Callie laughed, head turning to watch him flee. “Okay…” she said slowly. She looked back at Arizona, the blonde shrugging with an amused smile. “Hey, you. I was looking for you.” Both hands were winding her long hair into a tight knot and putting her favorite red patterned scrub cap over her head.

Arizona stepped forward off the wall and signaled her girlfriend to turn around so she could help her tie it. “Well, here I am. And don’t you have a surgery?”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t looking for you,” Callie answered her, turning to kiss her quickly as Arizona finished with the strings. “I guess yours went well?”

“Alex was perfect,” Arizona said with a proud smile. “He nailed it.”

“You’re a good teacher,” Callie said, proud herself of her girlfriend. “How about you come over tonight?” Arizona’s eyebrows rose, a crooked smirk growing on her lips. “I want to cook for you.”

Arizona hummed in consideration, though she was still smirking. “What did I do? I must have done something good to get a home cooked meal.”

Callie nodded her head slowly, smiling back at her. “Well, I actually want to impress you for a change. And I make a very good chicken picatta.”

“Say no more,” Arizona interjected. “I’m in.” Callie grinned and started to pass her into the scrub room. Arizona hooked two fingers in the back of her shirt, pulling her to a stop in the doorway. “Though, for the record, I’m already impressed, Calliope.” The kiss she got as a thank you pushed her back against the doorjamb and Arizona was breathless as Callie released her. “I’ve got some time. Would you mind if I watched your surgery?” she asked, grinning.

Blinking in surprise, Callie nodded. “Of course I don’t mind.” She arched an eyebrow. “You don’t think carpentry is boring?” She didn’t kid herself. She knew how her specialty was seen. It didn’t matter that she was a rockstar with a scalpel.

Arizona’s brows furrowed at her, a frown crossing her pretty face. “Calliope, what you do is not carpentry,” she rebuked her. “You’re like… an artist.”

Callie laughed, rolling her eyes. “An artist, right… Okay, sweet talker, I’ve got to scrub in now.”

Arizona didn’t let her go, shaking her head at her girlfriend. “You don’t see yourself as a carpenter. You’re awesome and you know it. So what’s the deal? You don’t think I’d want to watch you work?” Callie’s doubtful expression and the slight shrug of her shoulders clearly said she that she hadn’t expected that Arizona would want to watch her surgery. Glancing around to ensure they were alone, Arizona backed Callie against the other side of the doorway, hands on her hips boxing her in. “Calliope, you rebuild bones. You make people walk again. Like God…” Dimples popped as she smiled slowly, leaning up on her toes so that their lips were close. “It’s so hot to watch you work.”

Swallowing hard, Callie could see the blue of Arizona’s eyes darkening. “Really?”

The blonde nodded, head tilting as she leaned in. “I’ll come over tonight and you can find out just how hot it is,” she promised, lips dragging across Callie’s as she spoke.

Callie was the one to lean forward, connecting their lips for a thorough kiss. She was also the one to pull away reluctantly a minute later. “I would love to keep doing that, babe, but I really do have to scrub in.”

Arizona nodded. “I’ll be in the gallery for as long as I can. But I’ll see you tonight,” she promised, taking a final quick kiss. She stepped back, but left Callie with a quick slap of appreciation on her butt and a cheeky grin over her shoulder.

A few interns were already sitting in the gallery, reading and watching the patient get prepped, but there were a few seats in the front that would give her a view. Callie glanced up at her before she started, Arizona able to see the smile crinkle the corners of her eyes even though her mouth was hidden behind her mask.

She didn’t get to watch all of the procedure, having her own patients she needed to check on, but just as she’d known it would, the experience of watching Callie work, watching her long, strong fingers moving with such skill and confidence, the same skill and confidence Calliope displayed in everything she did, left her almost dizzy with want. Fortunately for her patients, the immediacy of her desire was tempered by distance and time, leaving Callie to her work for both of their sakes.

But by the time the apartment door opened that night to the smell of roasting chicken Arizona melted into her girlfriend’s arms. “Tired, babe?” the Latina questioned, kicking the door closed with a foot as she smiled down into blonde curls.

“Hungry,” came the answer, voice muffled by the fact that she hadn’t lifted her face from Callie’s shoulder. Both arms wrapped themselves around her girlfriend’s waist. She was really comfy to snuggle up to.

“Well, great, because dinner’s almost ready,” Callie assured her with a chuckle. She offered the glass of white wine she’d already poured. “Just sit wherever you want and I’ll bring it to you.”

Arizona moaned in appreciation, straightening up to take a sip. “Oh, you’re a saint, Calliope.”

She shuffled toward the couch and missed the frozen grimace on her girlfriend’s expression. If only Arizona knew the truth she wouldn’t say things like that. Pushing it out of her head, Callie went back to the kitchen to pour the sauce on the chicken and serve some up for them.

Arizona was distracted from her girlfriend’s sudden reticence by filling her in about her cases from the day, including one that would likely benefit from an Ortho consult. “Yeah, sure, I’ll come by in the morning,” Callie said distractedly.

“Or we could just go in together in the morning,” suggested Arizona with a curious look.

Callie blinked, realizing that she had blanked out. If she wasn’t more careful she was going to mess up her life in Seattle the same way she’d messed up her life in Miami. She offered an apologetic smile, leaning in for a soft kiss. “Baby, I’m sorry. I wanted this to be nice and I’m screwing it up…”

Arizona shook her head with a smile. “You made me dinner, Calliope. So you’re a little spacey tonight. So what? It’s still a nice night.” She shrugged. “I can’t say I won’t be a bit disappointed if you’d rather I not spend the night, but…”

“Oh shut up,” Callie declared, shoving her shoulder with one hand, Arizona giggling and balancing her wineglass on her knee skillfully. “I want you to stay, moron.”

“Oh, that’s nice!” Arizona countered, though she was still laughing as she turned and leaned herself back against Callie. The brunette looped an arm around her waist to keep her close and Arizona traced fingers lightly up and down her forearm and hand. “This is nice,” she sighed. “Thank you for dinner. It was super delicious.”

“Ooh, I earned a super,” teased Callie, feeling better as she nuzzled her nose into the blonde’s neck. “I’ll have to try harder with dessert.”

Arizona just settled in deeper against her. “There’s dessert?”

“If you’ll let me get up and get it,” Callie prompted with a laugh.

Arizona stayed where she was, not moving from her spot against Callie’s side. “I’m digesting,” she said simply. “And comfy.”

“Okay, well you just let me know when you’re ready for sweets then, alright?”

“Mmkay,” Arizona sighed, taking a sip of her wine. She kept up tracing her fingers across Callie’s skin. “You know what I love?” Callie made a interested noise. “This thing you do with your sleeves. You do it with your lab coat too. You always have your sleeves rolled up. It’s hot,” she declared, feeling Callie smile against her neck, soft breath shifting her hair. She enjoyed the comfortable silence for a few minutes, enjoying her wine. It was a really good white, apparently something Callie had noticed was her preference. “You know something else I’ve noticed? You never talk about home. Or your family, friends, anything about Florida. The most I know about your life in Florida is that you used to live in Florida.”

Callie held her breath for a moment before she let it go with a soft sigh. “What do you want to know?” she offered. She didn’t know if she could admit the truth, but she resolved not to lie any further to Arizona. She didn’t want to make it any worse that she already had.

“Well, how about you start with family,” Arizona suggested. “What do your parents do?”

The Latina smiled in spite of herself. “My dad owns a chain of hotels. My mom does the socialite, charity dinner, rich housewife thing,” she said, glad Arizona couldn’t see the embarrassment on her face. Her parents’ money had affected every relationship she’d ever had. She didn’t want it to ruin this one.

“Whoa. So your parents are loaded?”

“Pretty much,” she acknowledged hesitantly, a corner of her mind relieved to note that she hadn’t been included in Arizona’s question. Her parents were rich. She was not. Not since they’d cut her off.

“And their oldest daughter is a doctor. That’s awesome,” Arizona said, earnest. “They must be so proud of you!”

Callie sighed again, kissing behind Arizona’s ear instead of responding immediately. “They like the doctor thing,” she hedged finally.

Arizona leaned her head to give Callie more space to kiss her, feeling a strong arm hauling her in even tighter. “And the fact that you date women?” she asked softly, taking an educated guess about the part of their daughter’s life that they might not be so approving of.

“Yeah, they’re less thrilled about that part,” Callie confessed, kissing Arizona’s neck again.

“Is that why you don’t talk about them?”

“They don’t talk to me,” answered Callie, breathing the words against her girlfriend’s neck. “Even before I moved here, they haven’t spoken to me in years.” Her eyes fell closed. “I’m not saying it’s all their fault, though. I made a lot of mistakes before I left. I’m still trying to fix them.” Her breath was heavier against Arizona’s skin, a deep breath she released quickly. “I’m not proud of who I was in Miami. My life was a wreck, I was a complete mess…”

“Shh,” Arizona hushed her, squeezing the arm under her hand. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “I’m not pushing you, Calliope. I just, I want to know you, everything about you, because I care about you. But only what you can share.” She turned her head back toward Callie’s, nudging her nose against a smooth, tan cheek. “I’m not going anywhere. Plenty of time to learn the rest,” she promised.

“Arizona-” Callie started to say.

A moment later though, she leaned forward and stood up, pulling herself out of Callie’s arms. “It’s okay. But now I’ve ruined the mood, so I’m getting dessert. Where did you say it was?” Arizona questioned, smiling over her shoulder.

Callie sat up slowly, smiling at her girlfriend. “They’re on the stove under the tin foil. You’ll see them,” she said, smile widening when Arizona gave her an excited squeal when she pulled their treats out from under their cover.

“You made cannolis?” She looked at Callie with a wide-eyed smile. “You’re so awesome!”

She rushed back to the couch with the plate and flopped back down beside Callie. “Glad to hear you like them because I’ve never made them before and it was a chore.” Arizona grinned at her. “Worth it, though,” she added, taking a kiss.

“Glad to hear that I’m worth it,” Arizona teased lightly, plucking up a cannoli and offering it to Callie. “Bite.” She took the next bite, moaning appreciatively as she licked the cream off her lip. “Oh God, I’m in love with these.” Callie laughed. “I meant…”

“No, it’s fine,” said Callie, winking at her. “I’m in love with them too.”

She leaned back to chew on her next bite and Arizona hooked the front of her shirt to haul her back in. “I might like these cannolis, Calliope, but you have no idea how much I like the girl who has the cannolis.”

“Okay, sweetheart. No sucking up required. Just let me have another bite,” she requested, letting Arizona hold the last bite of the first cannoli up for her.

The blonde let out a deep breath as she leaned over, retaking her position and leaning against Callie. “Thank you, babe. Dinner and dessert was perfect.” She sighed gratefully when Callie snuggled her closer. “What do you want to do tonight? I’ll do anything you want.”

Callie hummed in consideration. “That sounds promising,” she whispered. “But what if I said I just want to make out on the couch before we go to bed?”

Arizona didn’t even hesitate. “As if I’m going to say no to that,” she scoffed. She felt lips on her neck immediately. “Nngh, no fair,” she protested, moaning. “I want to kiss you too!” Callie’s grip just tightened on her, warm lips engulfing more of her skin with each kiss. Arizona whined in complaint, but her head fell to the side in spite of her words. “Okay, so by ‘make out’ you meant ‘give me a hickey,’” she reasoned out loud, voice breathy.

“I’m not going to give you a hickey, Arizona,” Callie murmured against her neck, licking a trail up toward her ear. The blonde’s whining groan repeated itself when hot lips closed around her earlobe. “I have some self control,” she breathed into her ear.

“Not too much, I hope,” Arizona gasped in reply.


	8. Chapter 8

Unfortunately, parties in Miami were not cooperating, and by the time she’d been in Seattle for three months there had been little forward movement on her issue. But she and Arizona were growing closer every day. They spent every moment together that they could, though the blonde hadn’t questioned her girlfriend’s reticence to talk about her past in Florida since their initial conversation about it. They talked, but they didn’t talk about that.

The issue of privacy was taken out of both of their hands by Owen Hunt, however. Seattle Grace’s Head of Trauma was innocent of intention, though. He’d merely offered his protégé a job. He didn’t know that it was bringing Callie’s past into screeching collision with her present and what she wanted to be her future. So Owen was surprised when she charged into his trauma room in the middle of an ongoing case and barked at him, “You hired George O’Malley?! Without even saying anything to me?”

He looked up from his work, deep lines between his brows furrowing as he frowned at her. “Excuse me? Why would I say something to you about Dr. O’Malley?” Over the last few months they’d become friends as she became a bigger and bigger part of Arizona’s life.

Callie stomped around the table and tugged his head down to growl into his ear, “Because he’s my husband!”

His blue eyes were wide as he leaned back, his hands still over his patient. Clearly she’d shocked him. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. How could you hire him?”

“He called me about a job. He didn’t mention…you.” He was genuinely confused. “Your name is Torres. How was I supposed to know?”

Callie scoffed. “Callie O’Malley!? Seriously!? You think I’d do that to myself?!” She pointed at him sternly. “And before you think anything - we were married for three months and he cheated on me, we’ve been separated for something like eleven months, I filed for divorce before I came here and I haven’t told Arizona yet, so if she…”

“I’m officially out of it,” he declared, lifting both gloved hands. “Callie…”

“I’m going to talk to her. When is he getting here?”

He grimaced, brow still deeply furrowed. “Should be anytime now. Callie, really, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause trouble.”

She sighed, shoulders slumping as she tried to relax some of her frustration. It wasn’t his fault. And there was only so much she could do since George refused to sign the divorce papers. Belatedly, she wished she’d told Arizona the truth before her hand had been forced. Too late now. “It’s not your fault. Just, if you see him…”

“Absolutely,” he agreed. “I believe Arizona just got out of surgery.”

“She did. I’m heading up there now,” said Callie. “Sorry about snapping, Dr. Hunt. I’m just…”

“It’s forgotten, Torres.”

Callie turned on her heel and walked quickly from the room, anxiously pushing the button for the elevator. She was relieved to see Arizona on the other side as the doors slid open. “Hey, I was looking for you,” she said quickly, the blonde’s happy smile fading as she noticed her partner’s stress.

“Okay,” Arizona agreed slowly, stepping forward off the elevator and taking Callie’s hand. She turned when a new voice interjected.

“You must be the woman who’s sleeping with my wife.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. Fucking shit.

Arizona’s expression tightened and her gaze flickered between Callie at her side and the man facing them. He was shorter than either of them, with cropped dark hair and a scowl on his face. “Damn it, George,” Callie grumbled.

“He’s your husband?!” Arizona breathed in disbelief, the edges of her world cracking. The tone in Callie’s voice was all she needed to hear to know that it was true.

“No,” growled the brunette, unconsciously holding tighter to her girlfriend’s hand. “He was, but we’re separated because he cheated on me. We’ve been separated almost a year. And as soon as you sign the damn papers, we’ll be divorced!” Turning and sidestepping to put her back on George and herself in between him and Arizona, she leaned down to try and meet the blue eyes she lived for. “Will you go somewhere and talk to me? Please?” Arizona wouldn’t meet her eyes and shook her hand free of Callie’s, but she didn’t run. “Baby…”

“Don’t,” the blonde interjected hoarsely. “I-I need some time here, Callie.”

Her shortened name on Arizona’s lips broke her heart, but Callie nodded, stepping back slowly, giving Arizona space to escape. “He cheated on me. He slept with his best friend, lied to me about it, but won’t sign the papers.” She sighed. “I was trying to get it all straightened out before I told you.”

“Stop,” Arizona interrupted again, shaking her head. “I can’t do this right now.” She stepped backward, both hands fidgeting with the edges of her lab coat.

“Okay.” Callie nodded reluctantly. “Can I come over tonight? I’ll explain anything you want.”

Arizona’s eyes were drawn irrepressibly to the waiting man, the man who’d just wrecked her life as she knew it, her life as she liked it. “I need some time,” she repeated, backing away. “I just…”

Callie watched her go with a sinking rock in her chest. When a hand touched her shoulder, she jerked herself away forcefully. “Don’t you ever touch me,” she ordered in a growl. “I have a girlfriend and you’re with Izzie.” She spun on him. “What the hell are you even doing here? You’d better say signing the papers or else I’m going to kill you.”

“I want us to work it out,” George answered her.

Callie rolled her eyes. “That’s not one of the options,” she said flatly. “That hasn’t been an option in a very long time, George. Resign your job here and get back to Florida. Izzie’s probably starving for attention without you there to suck up to her.” Her shoulder hit his as she edged around him and she did nothing to soften the blow. All of her frustration was back and she prayed for a bone breaking case to distract her.

Unfortunately, she got enough bone breaking cases to keep her at the hospital until leaving made no sense and she resolved to just crash in an on-call room. Going back to her apartment was just a depressing thought. And since Arizona hadn’t answered a single one of her dozens of phone calls she had a feeling that going to Arizona’s house wasn’t her best option either. And either the blonde hadn’t come in to work or she was the craftiest woman in the world because there was no sign of her the entire next day either. Thankfully for him, Callie managed to just as effectively dodge George O’Malley.

Even exhausted as she was, the second Callie was off work she went to Arizona’s house, too worked up after two days of no contact to do anything else. They’d long since exchanged keys, but Alex intercepted her before she could enter the house. “She’s worked up. She doesn’t want to see you right now, dude,” he informed her. Callie didn’t flinch, arms crossing her chest. “You’re not going away, are you?” She just shook her head. “Okay, I’ll get you a blanket. It’s supposed to be pretty cool out tonight. And rainy.”

“Wonderful,” Callie muttered, sighing. “Alex,” she called him back as he turned to go back inside the house. “Is she okay?” He faced her again slowly. “Not is she mad at me, but is she okay?”

He took a deep breath, his expression serious. “I don’t think she is.” His eyes found hers and it was clear whose side he was on. “Torres, what’s she in for, here? I want to know how bad it’s going to get for her.”

Callie shook her head. “I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I love her.” She blinked and tears came to her eyes. It was the first time she’d ever put those three words out loud to her feelings for Arizona, but it was the truth. However they’d found each other, no matter that everything they’d made together was threatened now because of her own silence, even if she couldn’t make Arizona understand the depth of her feeling, she still loved the other woman completely. “Karev, I love her. All I want from George is a divorce and for him to go back to Miami.” She took a shaky breath. “I need Arizona.”

He studied her face for a long moment, trying to read her expression. He could see her desperation, her obvious sorrow, her frustration. He wouldn’t let anyone hurt Arizona if he could stop it, but he had a feeling that only this woman could stop what was paining her now. But she’d get in over his dead body if she was going to hurt Arizona again. She appeared sincere though. Finally, her conviction touched him and the younger man nodded, his expression still brusque. “I guess I don’t have to tell you to wait here,” he mused, turning again to go inside.

Arizona’s bedroom door was closed, but it wasn’t latched and swung open when he knocked. The blonde was a barely distinguishable lump in the middle of the bed, sniffles muffled by the layers of blankets she’d wrapped around herself. “Go away.”

“She’s outside,” Alex informed her instead. “And it really looks like she’s prepared to camp on the porch.” He leaned his shoulder against the doorframe while she considered.

The woman she loved had a husband. Damn it all to hell. They hadn’t said the three little words but she thought they’d been close to it. At least, she loved Callie. And she thought it was reciprocal. But who the hell knew anymore. Because her girlfriend had husband. Fuck. For all her rules - keep it simple, no newborns, don’t get personal at work - her girlfriend still had a husband. And had broken a few of her rules too, damn it. It was all too much to deal with. And seeing Callie right now wouldn’t help either one of them.

“I - get her out of here, please.” His mouth opened to protest but she hiccupped back a sob and he thought better of it. “I can’t see her right now, Alex.”

He nodded, arms crossing his chest. “Okay, boss. I’ll take care of it.”

Callie was already sitting on the porch swing when he returned and she looked up at him with a sigh. “I know she doesn’t want to see me but I’m not going anywhere, Karev.”

“I figured,” he grumbled gruffly. He paused for a moment, considering her. She’d unmistakably screwed up, but he was no stranger to relationship flubs and he found himself sympathetic. He normally had much less remorse about the crap he pulled than she was showing. And he’d seen the affect they had on each other. Callie was good for his friend. “Come on, Torres.” He nodded back toward the door. “But my room is at the top of the stairs, so stay the hell away from her tonight.”

“Fine,” she agreed, grateful that she wouldn’t be spending the night on the wooden porch swing. “Thank you, Alex.”

“Seriously, hurt her again and I’ll kick your ass,” he stated, leaving her in the living room without looking back at her.

The night was uncomfortable, sleep not easy to come by under the weight of the guilt at what she’d done to Arizona, as well as frustration at George for showing up to ruin her life when things had been so good. Karev peeked around the banister first thing in the morning, looking almost surprised to see that she was still there.

“I said I wasn’t going anywhere,” she reminded him without moving her hand off of its place covering her eyes.

“I figured you were going to bail. That couch sleeps like a bitch,” he said, his steps stomping down the stairs.

Callie sat up with a groan, stretching sore muscles. He wasn’t wrong about the sofa. “The first night I ever met her, we had sex on this couch,” she said completely without thinking.

Pausing on the way to kitchen, Alex sent her a look. “Dude, she’s like my sister and hearing about that is going to ruin girl sex for me. Shut up!”

She snorted, standing up. “We’re going to ruin girl sex for you? Two hot girls have sex on your couch and that ruins it for you? There’s something wrong with you!”

“Not girls having sex! You - no! We’re not talking about this! Don’t make me regret letting you in here, Torres,” he said, glaring at her as he poured coffee for himself. He poured in sugar without looking at it, stirred it with a spoon while he considered her, leaning against the counter in front of the coffeemaker. “You going to try and talk to her?”

“She’s why I’m here,” answered Callie seriously. “Do you think she’ll talk to me?”

“I guess you want me to talk to her first, try and find out…”

She sighed, arms wrapping around herself unconsciously. “I need her to be okay. I love her.”

He matched her sigh with one of his own. “Okay, I think I get it. Stow the mushy shit, please.” She rolled her eyes at him. “Shouldn’t you be nice to me? I let you inside my house!”

“I have a key, Karev,” she shot back.

“I’m still helping you,” he reminded her, turning back to the counter and pouring another cup of coffee and mixing it the way he knew Arizona liked it.

He was in the doorway with the coffee before she spoke again, “Thank you, Alex.”


	9. Chapter 9

Arizona didn’t look up when Alex knocked on her door, but the knob hadn’t clicked after the last time she’d gone to the bathroom for more toilet paper (her bathroom was entirely out before midnight of the first day) and the door swung open. “Go away, please.”

“Arizona…” Her first name from Karev was rare and it made her listen despite herself. “Torres loves you.”

“She’s married,” the blonde countered, sniffling. “To a man.”

“So you don’t know everything about each other. That gets old fast,” he argued. “She’s getting divorced. And she loves you.”

Arizona’s head appeared slowly, hair disheveled, eyes red and swollen. “How do you know that?”

He shrugged almost casually, moving into the dark room and putting her coffee on the nightstand. “She just told me so. Two minutes ago. And last night on the porch.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” he stated. “Will you talk to her? Just give her a chance to explain? And if you don’t like what you hear, I promise I’ll throw her cheating ass out myself.”

“Hey!” Arizona’s rebuke was short and sharp. “That’s my girlfriend…” She trailed off as she realized the issue inherent in that statement and Karev stood up straight.

“Can I go get her now?”

A silent nod was his only answer and he turned to jog back down the stairs. Callie’s head snapped up as he reappeared in the kitchen. “Is she okay?”

“She’ll see you,” he answered her, though his arm across the doorframe stopped her from going up the hall to the stairs. “I’ll say this once. Most days Robbins is the only friend I’ve got. And if you make her cry anymore, ever, I’ll kick your ass, Torres. Got it?”

“Yeah, got it,” she agreed with a nod.

He stepped aside with a sigh, arms crossing his chest as he turned to watch her climb the stairs. He just hoped he hadn’t made a mistake letting her go up there.

Arizona was buried under her blankets again when Callie appeared in her doorway and even confused and angry and upset, she was still beautiful. All she wanted to do was throw back the covers and beg her girlfriend to get in and just forget everything outside of this room. But she didn’t. She stayed quiet and blinked back tears.

“Arizona,” Callie sighed her girlfriend’s name as she saw the tears, hating the pain she had caused the woman she loved. “I’m so sorry. I know it doesn’t mean anything now, but I was always going to tell you. I just wanted to actually have the divorce…”

“So what happened?”

“George won’t sign the papers. And apparently he knew Owen at some point and he pulled some strings to get a job here.”

“For you.”

Callie sighed. “I don’t want him. We never should have gotten married. It was a mistake from day one. Him cheating just gave me an excuse to finally pull the trigger.”

“So why’d you get married?” Despite herself, Arizona sounded curious and Callie took a cautious step forward. The room was dark and the floor surrounding the bed was littered with discarded tissues.

“His father died and he was upset, we’d been dating for a few months. He asked me and he was miserable, and I wanted to make him feel better.”

“I’m sorry, but none of those sound like good reasons to get married,” Arizona noted in a rough whisper, the blankets starting to slide off of her shoulders as she straightened up. “Do you love him?” Her heart was frozen and she couldn’t blink, couldn’t breathe.

Callie walked forward another few steps, stopping only a foot from the bed where Arizona was hiding. “No,” she said simply, no waver or hint of doubt in her. “I don’t love George. I love you.” Arizona’s blue eyes were wide, and Callie took a chance and sat down on the edge of the bed, relieved when Arizona didn’t recoil from the proximity. “I never should have married him. And we should have never taken so long to get a divorce, but our families are both Catholic, and…”

“Are you really into women?” Arizona interjected, asking the next question that had the potential to wreck her life. “Or-or is it just a v-va-vacation in lesbian-land?” She couldn’t meet Callie’s eyes, couldn’t risk seeing the truth in her eyes before she heard it out loud.

Taking a deep breath, Callie couldn’t help smiling, knowing that she probably shouldn’t, but the question struck her as utterly ridiculous, even in the middle of the situation they found themselves. Even after only a few months, she knew she’d never find another person, man or woman, like Arizona Robbins. “You’re no vacation, Arizona,” she promised, voice soft. “And you’re not the first woman I’ve been with if that’s what you’re thinking.” 

Arizona looked up finally, her eyes searching Callie’s face for any trace of doubt. There was none. “Really?” she questioned, voice high in surprise.

“The first’s name was Erica,” Callie shook her head, “We were in med school together. She was a T.A. for one of my classes. We were friends for a while, flirting before we realized what we were doing. We started dating, were together for a month and some stuff happened, she thought I wasn’t taking her side like I should have, and she left me standing in a parking lot.” She had to stop, swallow hard as her throat went dry. “But what she really couldn’t handle was that I’m bisexual.” Arizona blinked but didn’t speak. “She didn’t think it was fair that she had this big, sweeping realization about being a lesbian while I realized that I can love women or men.” Her breath shook as she inhaled and then exhaled slowly. “I didn’t want to lie,” oh, the irony in that, she thought to herself, “so I came out to my family even after my girlfriend dumped me and they stopped speaking to me, cut me off.”

In spite of everything that was happening, Arizona couldn’t help feeling sympathy. Her coming out had been practically perfect, her parents supportive and understanding, her brother her own personal rock, caring and protective. “But you married a man…” she reminded her hoarsely, had to keep reminding herself. She loved Callie, was sympathetic, but it still hurt, still felt like a punch to the chest, making every breath feel like painful, hard work.

“I did,” Callie agreed, clearly regretful. “And it was a mistake. Every day with him was a mistake. We went to Vegas, got married in the middle of the night with no one we knew there to see it. That didn’t help my parents come around. And married to a man or not, I’m not going to lie about who I am so they still don’t speak to me.” She sighed heavily, fingers fidgeting nervously in her lap.

“You lied to me,” whispered Arizona, her own gaze directed at her wall, her bedspread, anywhere but at the woman who could still shatter her heart.

Swallowing hard, Callie nodded. “I did. Arizona, I can never apologize enough for that. But when is too soon to share something like this? The first night we ever met? The first week?” Arizona peeked up at her hesitantly and Callie could feel her heart skip as their eyes met. “I wanted to tell you. I never wanted to hurt you, but I know that I have. And I’m sorry for that. But this, us, has happened so fast, and I fell for you pretty much that first morning when I woke up on your floor and you couldn’t wait to get me out of there,” she confessed, unable to hide her small smile. “Or it might have been when I saw you again in the ER waiting on that ambulance, all hung over and hugging your coffee cup, but it definitely started that day.” 

Arizona breathed deeply but was equally useless at keeping her own sliver of a smile restrained. “And I have been so happy with you, Arizona. I know I should have said something, and I have started to a hundred times…” Their eyes connected again, locking this time. “But when is the right time to say something like that? When is the right time to tell the woman you love that you have a husband who won’t divorce you? I know I screwed it up, and I don’t blame you if you never want to speak to me again, but I love you. I love you and not George. And I love you more than I ever loved George, or Erica, or anyone I’ve ever been with. Give me one more chance and I swear you’ll never doubt that.”

“Callie…”

“And you’re not a rebound or anything like that, you never were,” Callie continued, scared to let Arizona speak lest she destroy her. It was well within the blonde’s rights, she’d lied, betrayed her trust, but she was still clinging to her desperate hope that she hadn’t wrecked her life again. And so much worse than the last time. “George and I,” Arizona flinched and Callie felt her heart break again, “we were a mistake. And I don’t know why he’s holding on so hard, but I moved out the day he finally told me the truth and we never saw each other outside of work. He never even tried to fix it or anything, not until I came here. And I was in Miami for months before I got the job here and moved, and I don’t know why he just decided to show up here now…”

“Callie…” Arizona’s whisper of her name stopped her explanation, the blonde’s fingers on her hand forcing the breath from her lungs. “Calliope…” Their fingers laced and she could feel her heart start to race in her chest. This was the edge of everything. One word from Arizona and the life she wanted was done. “Kiss me.”

It wasn’t one of the words she’d been expecting, but it wasn’t an invitation she was going to deny - ever.

Leaning forward, her free hand cupped Arizona’s cheek as she drew her in to meet her lips. The first touch sent a shock through them both, each pressing closer at the contact. This was how it was supposed to feel, this was how it was always supposed to feel. It was slow and simple and easy. It was home and they could both feel it.

Arizona fell back beneath her as Callie pushed her gently onto the mattress. They hit with a bounce, too tangled in each other to care. The kiss grew deeper, the passion held in control by the thinnest of threads. Then Arizona’s hands were on her chest, pushing her back gently, fingers winding into the fabric of her shirt to keep her from withdrawing. 

“Wait,” she panted. “I want to - I need to say something,” Arizona said in between breaths and scattered kisses that she couldn’t help craning up to drag across Callie’s neck. Part of her couldn’t believe that she was letting this happen, but she didn’t want to stop it, either. Callie could hurt her. There was no changing that anymore. But she was here, she was in her house, in her room, in her bed, apologizing, asking for another chance, and saying that she loved her, kissing her.

She dropped her head to meet Callie’s eyes after a few moments. “Yeah?” Callie requested breathlessly, feeling lighter than she had in ages. The truth was out and she was still like this with Arizona. It was more than she’d ever let herself hope for since she’d realized that she was falling hard and fast for the blonde. The next words out of her mouth still could break her, break them, but she wasn’t going to walk away from this, not if there was a chance in hell that she could make this right.

“I love you,” Arizona whispered. “I’m angry that you didn’t tell me the truth, and I’m going to need some time to deal with that, but I do love you.” Maybe she shouldn’t but that didn’t change that she did, completely. She traced one hand over the brunette’s face. “I need to know though… I - is there anything else you’ve neglected to tell me? Because if you lie to me again, we’re done.” She couldn’t do anything about loving her, it was too late for that now, she didn’t want to stop, but she couldn’t just let someone else stroll up to her in the hall again and wreck her life. This, she couldn’t do this again.

Callie shook her head, no hesitation. “No, nothing. And I’m so, so sorry that I never told you - I should have a long time ago, but it was… Coming here, finding you is the best thing that has ever happened to me, Arizona, and I just didn’t want to drop this on you on our second date when we were still getting to know each other…”

“And I can understand why you didn’t tell me before.” Arizona’s smile was loving, if small and a little forced. George was here, in Seattle, and Callie was here, with her. That meant something. She had a choice and she’d picked her, picked them. “How could you know that your drunken hookup was going to become…”

“Everything,” interjected Callie, quiet but earnest. “Arizona, you’re everything.”

“But if you ever lie to me again…”

“Never,” Callie promised. It was an easy promise to make. She never wanted to hurt Arizona like that again. She had a feeling that her next second chance wouldn’t come so soon if she screwed this up again. And she still had a hell of a lot to make up for.

Moaning lightly, Arizona pulled Callie down into a kiss, not holding anything back. They weren’t done with this talk, but for now, this was more important. However, not everyone knew that, and there was a knock on the door.

“Go away, Alex!” Arizona broke the kiss to call loudly. Waiting a second, there was no further noise and she dragged Callie back to her lips, a hand on her hips dumping the Latina onto her back and letting her pin her girlfriend to the bed. Then the knock repeated itself and she lifted her head with a groan. “Karev, we are busy! I will talk to you later!”

The door cracked open anyway and Arizona flopped onto Callie with another groan, the brunette unable to help laughing after her conversation with Alex in the kitchen. “Not my fault, boss,” he stated, dutifully keeping his eyes averted though his voice was strained. “You left your pager - it’s a 911…”

*****

Groaning, “Oh no,” Arizona turned over and sat up. “Which one is it?” Alex answered and Arizona’s head dropped in disappointment. “Calliope, I’m so sorry, but I’ve got to go.” She kissed her quickly. “Will you stay?” She was already out of bed and changing into clothes that didn’t make it look as though she’d been pathetically sad sacking all day and night.

“Of course,” promised Callie, nodding. “Come home when you can.”

Karev was on her heels as Arizona trotted down the stairs and he followed her outside. “Is it that bad or are you just trying to check on me?”

“Oh, I’m paged in too,” Alex said, gesturing ahead of them to the driveway. “And your girl blocked us in,” he sighed. Arizona pulled her keys out with a jingle, easily finding the spare key to Callie’s T-bird. “Oh, hell yeah! Torres lets you drive her car? I’m riding in with you!”

The intern that had paged them in knew better than to call Stark as well and they went straight into surgery. In the rest of the hospital, an accident had the ER packed with patients. A school bus of students returning from a football game had been involved, so as soon as they were available they had more work to do.

The last thing Arizona wanted from the day was to find herself working across a table from George O’Malley. But that was exactly what she got. Retaining her professionalism was tricky when she just wanted to scream at this man who’d been foolish enough to betray Callie. But at the same time, if he hadn’t, Callie never would have come to Seattle.

She kept her professionalism by keeping her quiet. So when George spoke up, it was a surprise. “She didn’t tell you about me, did she?”

“Didn’t mention you once,” answered Arizona coolly, keeping her eyes focused on her work. After this surgery she could go home, go back to Callie. “Suction, please.”

“She told me about you.” Arizona glanced up at that declaration, surprised. “She cares about you.”

“I love her too,” she stated, subtly correcting him about their emotional status. Callie loved her. Her old life had come to their doorstep and she’d made her choice. “She told you about us, but you still came here? You still won’t sign the divorce?” What the hell was that about? It’s one thing to chase after someone right away, another to wait almost a year, until the other person was happy, to come after them.

“People make mistakes,” he said simply, shrugging. “I cheated, she left, we’ve both made mistakes.”

Biting her tongue, Arizona forced herself not to respond as she felt her frustration rising. She was in surgery. The kid on her table had to have her focus. “Dr. O’Malley, if you’re done with your repair, I’m sure Dr. Hunt could use the help in the pit. I can wrap up here.” Strictly speaking, a first year could wrap up here, but she didn’t want to spend any more time with him. Being around him made her want to hit him with a brick. 

She could feel his eyes on her, but didn’t look up. She wasn’t going to fight over Callie like a child over the open body of their patient. He could make all the claims he wanted, but Callie wasn’t a prize to squabble over. And issues between Callie and George were between Callie and George. Huffing, he snapped his gloves off and left the OR without another word. Arizona took a deep breath to steady herself, refocusing on her work. Something drew her eyes up though, and she found Callie in the gallery watching.

Her arms were crossing her chest and her expression was unreadable from the operating floor. She was wearing scrubs, had obviously been called in to help with the chaos, but Arizona couldn’t help wondering how long she’d been there, how much she’d heard. Callie could see the question in the blue eyes above her mask and she nodded reassuringly, smiling as she reached forward to touch the glass. She couldn’t linger, she’d been paged to deal with the trauma like the rest of them, but Owen had given her heads up that her girlfriend was in surgery with her husband. She couldn’t help herself - she’d had to come check on it with her own two eyes.

There was no reason to be worried, she could see now. Arizona had kept cool even after George had tried to bait her. She’d been a professional, every inch of her. And it was very hot. She could be jealous herself, had been on more than one occasion, but seeing Arizona refuse to doubt her, refuse to doubt their relationship at a moment when she knew the blonde was still angry, probably second guessing her and the decision to give her another chance, it made her feel calmer. They had to work some things out (and she had a lifetime of groveling ahead of her that she was happy to do), but watching her girlfriend stay steady helped. She realized Arizona was still looking up at her and she tapped the center of her chest lightly and pointed down at her girlfriend. She couldn’t see the smile because of the mask covering the bottom half of her face, but she could see the light of it in the blue eyes that stared up at her.

The next time she found Arizona the blonde was leaning over the desk in the ER on her toes, checking the charts for any cases she could help with, and the feel of hands familiarly touching her hips and guiding her back onto her feet made her twitch until she recognized the strong grip. “You know, I think my car got stolen,” Callie breathed into her ear as she pulled Arizona back against her. Her voice was low and husky against her skin and the blonde shivered unconsciously. “Teddy had to come pick me up.”

“You blocked in me and Karev. And you gave me a key.” She leaned back to look up at her. “Do you mind? I’m sorry.”

Callie shook her head, dropping a kiss on Arizona’s cheek. They were more affectionate at work than they had been in the beginning, but kissing in the ER without pulling a curtain or ducking into an on-call room was new territory. “You know I don’t mind,” she said. “Can I get a ride home with you, though?” She nudged her nose against a pale neck. “Whenever you can get out of here. I’m not on today, I just came in to help.”

“I’m more than ready to go, Calliope,” Arizona stated immediately. She wanted to go home and sleep for a week after the last few days. Fingers laced through a hand at her waist. “Can I drive?”

Eyes rolling, Callie kissed her neck before she let the blonde go to pull them along. “Of course. Have I ever gotten to drive when you were around?”

“Nope!” answered Arizona cheerfully, so cheerfully that Callie couldn’t help wondering if her girlfriend was over-exaggerating her fineness.

“I’m exhausted anyway,” Callie said with a sigh, curling an arm through Arizona’s as they waited on the elevator. Her head leaned over to rest on the blonde’s shoulder. “Thank you for talking to me today. I know you didn’t have to.” She was well aware of how freaking lucky she was to still be standing at Arizona’s side.

“Karev told me you were going to sleep on the porch.”

Callie nodded, yawning. “He let me sleep on the couch. I think he likes us together. But I will still camp outside if you need me to prove something to you. You and George, it’s not a choice. I choose you. I will always choose you.”

The elevator opened in front of them but it wasn’t empty, George looking up from his phone as the doors opened. The blonde went stiff, but Callie didn’t even blink, didn’t lift her head from Arizona’s shoulder. “It’s going to rain today,” Arizona mused after a second, leading them onto the elevator. “No extreme gestures necessary.” She kissed the top of the dark hair gently as George edged around her and exited the elevator car. Arizona waited until the doors closed behind him before she continued, “I want you with me, Callie, but if you need to go home…”

The double meaning was clear and Callie shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere but to bed with you, Arizona,” she answered, voice soft but resolute. “I don’t want an out here.” She lifted her head to meet her eyes. “And you’re mad, I deserve it. You can be mad. I love you and I will never stop telling you that.”

“Do you want me to say I want you to sleep on the couch again?” questioned Arizona mildly. “I can’t say that I’m happy that you have a husband, but if you say that you love me, I’m going to trust you.” She blinked and her expression was serious. “Please don’t make me regret it.”

Callie shook her head. “Not going to happen,” she stated. Her expression shifted into a rueful smile. “I have to confess, though, that if it was me in your position, I’d be jealous as hell.” Arizona frowned and Callie continued quickly, “Not that you have anything to be jealous about. George O’Malley can’t hold a candle to Arizona Robbins. I just get jealous. If your ex showed up looking to get you back, I’d be insane.”

Arizona smiled unexpectedly. “Good to know,” she said teasingly. “But for now I want to take you home and keep you close. No sleeping outside, or on the couch, or anywhere that’s not with me, okay?” She was earnest now. “I already did the right thing and tried to give you an out. You didn’t take it. So, if you’re with me, we’re together. And kissing is cheating and what I don’t know will hurt me, Calliope.”

“Who am I going to be kissing but you?” Callie asked, moving forward to press Arizona against the wall of the elevator, one hand pulling the stop button before it planted itself next to Arizona’s head, boxing her in. “Arizona, George can want whatever he wants from me, but I just want you.” She paused, considering. “And a divorce,” the blonde head nodded in agreement, “I will not be kissing him, or being alone with him, or probably even having civil conversation with him,” she promised softly. She slowly leaned in, her voice even lower. “I will be kissing you,” she did just that, “being alone with you,” another soft kiss, “and I will tell you anything at all that you want to know. No more secrets,” she finished in a whisper, lips dragging against Arizona’s as she spoke.

Arizona was the one to press forward and kiss her again, fingers in dark hair to hold her close. Callie’s hips pushed hers into the wall, Arizona’s other hand on her butt to encourage her. “We need to get home,” Arizona gasped into a gap for breath, Callie capturing her lips without answering, though the thrust of her hips against Arizona’s was an answer in itself. “I want you under me.” Normally they didn’t make a fuss about who was on top, just going with whatever felt good, but after today, the revelations of the last few days, Arizona wanted her girlfriend safely under her hands.

Callie groaned, breaking the kiss to nod her agreement. “Anything you want,” she promised breathlessly.

“I’m going to hold you to that,” Arizona declared, pushing the stop button back into the place and starting the car moving again. “You know, your apartment is closer,” she mused as Callie stepped back to release her from the wall.

“Yeah, but I want to go home,” countered Callie. Her apartment was just the place where her stuff lived. Her home was with Arizona. The dark blues that met hers clearly showed that Arizona was in the same state, a feeling that made Callie feel something like relief. Since their first meeting, they’d affected each other in some way that was powerful and unlike anything else she’d ever had. It was what had kept Arizona from being a simple one night stand or a rebound. 

“I love you,” she said, knowing that it had been said already that day, but wanting to say it again, glad to know that she still had the chance to say it every day.

They were already half naked by the time they hit Arizona’s bedroom door, the trail of clothes up the stairs and down the hall make it clear what was going on in the master bedroom. Not that Alex wouldn’t already know. He was smarter than that.

Callie let herself be guided backwards toward the bed, knowing the way herself after so many nights here but knowing that Arizona needed control tonight. “I love you,” she whispered again into a gap for breath, Arizona moaning against her lips. She’d said it more than once and it had yet to fail to get that reaction.

Following Callie to the mattress, they were barely balanced on the bed before she was inside her, having torn her panties down and off somewhere between the door and the bed. “I love you too,” she answered, sucking on her neck. And maybe it was possible that she was feeling a little bit possessive too.

Hands on the back of her thighs enabled Callie to dump Arizona over onto her back without dislodging her pumping hand between her own legs. The Latina rolled them again before the blonde could remind her that she was in control of this encounter, maneuvering them so this wouldn’t end with one of them falling off the bed. “I’m close,” Callie gasped, curling one leg around the blonde’s hips, moving her own against the firmly thrusting fingers inside her. That was Arizona’s cue to move faster, hit deeper. “Oh, God, Arizona, please…”

She promptly curled her fingers, backing the thrust with her hips. “Come for me,” she whispered, working on what was sure to be an epic hickey on the top of her lover’s chest just over her heart. It wouldn’t be visible at work beneath Callie’s favored long sleeved t-shirts, but it was also undeniably marking her. Callie found that she didn’t really care. Being possessed by Arizona Robbins was not something she was scared of.

Pitching over the edge, Callie muffled her moan in Arizona’s shoulder, clinging to her with arms and legs. The blonde’s thrusts didn’t slow down or stop and Callie could feel a second peak quick on the heels of the first. She could just dig her nails in and ride it out, tears squeezing out of the corners of her eyes as her struggling lungs tried to catch up. It would probably be easier if Arizona wasn’t sprawled on top of her, but she didn’t want her to move, so it was a moot point.

The blonde nuzzled into her chest, a bit breathless and sweaty herself. “Oww,” she whimpered. “Are you okay?”

Callie breathed deeply, nodding. “Yeah. What about you? Why’d you say oww?” She picked her head up and could see the red tracks she’d left on her lover’s back. “Oh my God, get off. I need to check your back!” They both gasped as Arizona pulled out and rolled over, Callie sitting up and turning her gently onto her front. “Oh, baby,” one hand covered her mouth, “I’m so sorry,” she whispered, genuinely upset. She’d done enough to hurt Arizona this week.

Hearing the emotion in her girlfriend’s voice, Arizona leaned up on her elbows to look over her shoulder at Callie, hissing as light fingers touched her back. “It’s okay,” she said before Callie could apologize again. “It’s not bleeding, is it?”

“No,” Callie admitted. That didn’t mean it looked good, though. “Arizona…”

Arizona sat up with a grunt. “Stop apologizing. It was hot, Calliope.” She turned so Callie couldn’t stare at her back. “It’s not like I wasn’t going hard on you too. Did I hurt you?” Callie denied it immediately. Hurt was not even close to what she was feeling right then. “Well, you didn’t hurt me either. So my back will sting a little bit tomorrow. You’ll be walking funny too, so we’ll match.” Callie smiled at that and Arizona leaned forward to kiss her softly. Callie was disheveled, only half undressed, but she was undeniably gorgeous. And this, even with everything that had happened in the last few days, this feeling, the simple, easy feeling of being alone with Callie, it hadn’t changed.

“I love you, you know that?” asked Callie hypothetically. “And I’m sorry I shredded your back,” she added quickly when Arizona nodded.

Arizona huffed, shaking her head. “What’s going to make you feel better about this? Do you want to put medicine on it for me?” Nodding, Callie started to slip off the bed and go get something from the bathroom, but Arizona caught her by the hand, dragging her back down into the bed. “I didn’t mean now, Calliope. I meant after we’re done. Because what’s the point in doing it now if you’re just going to scratch me up again later?” she asked with a smug smirk. It was kind of ridiculously hot that she could get Callie that worked up.

Laughing, Callie threw her head back, flopping back willingly into the sheets. Arizona followed her down, grinning. “No, but seriously, I’m not doing that again.”

“We’ll see,” Arizona teased, kissing her way down her girlfriend’s body.


	10. Chapter 10

George didn’t resign and leave town as Callie had suggested, but she was determined not to let his presence ruin her life in Seattle. She ate lunch with Arizona and their friends when she could, same as always, treated the inevitable cases that came into the ER that required both her and George working together with the utmost of her professionalism. She was resolute on her insistence that their marriage had been a mistake, but he refused to budge. Not that he forced confrontations or anything so proactive, he was always just there. Passive aggressive had always been more his style. So she resorted to determinately ignoring him.

She found she wasn’t so good at ignoring the situation when Izzie Stevens made her arrival in Seattle a few weeks later.

The x-ray room was empty and Callie slapped a scan of a pulverized hand onto the light box, flipping the switch to display it. “Oh, wow,” Arizona murmured, moving closer for a better look. “It looks like hamburger in there. Are you going to amputate?”

Callie shook her head, one arm curled around her middle while the other elbow was braced on her forearm, the Latina unconsciously chewing on her thumbnail while she surveyed the damage. “I really don’t want to,” she said. “This guy’s an artist. He does these really amazing wood carvings. He needs his hand.” His art kept him sane after his day job as a trash collector. And she could understand that - any surgeon could. They needed their hands the same way he needed his. She shook her head again, trying to think. “I’m just not sure how to do it.”

“Dr. Torres…”

The voice made her shoulders tighten and she didn’t turn. “No,” she denied flatly, Arizona turning at the cold tone suddenly in her partner’s voice. “Get out.”

“I’ve been assigned as your resident on this case.”

“I don’t care,” Callie said in the same tone. “I’m not working with you. Go find your boyfriend.” She didn’t move her eyes off of the x-ray, only realizing that her hands were shaking in fists at her sides when Arizona’s hand touched the back of hers lightly, coaxing it to relax.

“Doctor…”

“Stevens,” the new arrival provided her name. She was blonde, brown eyed, and pretty, Arizona could acknowledge that, but for her tastes Callie was in an entirely different league. O’Malley was an idiot. His loss was her gain, though.

“Dr. Stevens, if you would give us a few minutes,” Arizona requested, nodding back toward the door. The younger doctor retreated without arguing and Arizona squeezed Callie’s hand to draw her eyes. “I guess that’s her?” The brunette nodded, her jaw clenched. “And this isn’t something I should be jealous about, is it?” she checked. “Because if you’re this angry at her about ruining a marriage even you’ve said was a mistake…”

“It’s not just that, Arizona,” Callie cut her off brusquely, aware that she was giving her girlfriend undeserved attitude but unable to help herself. “Even before they slept together behind my back, she hated me and lost no chance to let me know it. It was humiliating. And he did nothing to stand up for me.” She sighed, holding her breath in an effort to calm herself. “I look at her and I remember how miserable they made me the whole time I was dating George. And I tried! I tried to trust her and I tried to be what he needed after his dad died!”

“Okay,” Arizona interjected, stepping in between Callie’s body and the light box she was still staring at, drawing dark brown eyes to her. “I believe you.” She used both hands to hold Callie’s eyes on her, her own expression serious. “And I understand that you’re upset. So, I’m officially declaring myself supportive, loving girlfriend and not paranoid, jealous freak,” she announced, relieved to get a smile, no matter how weak. “And toward that end, I will take Dr. Stevens for you today and you can go rebuild this guy’s hand in peace,” she offered.

Callie spontaneously relaxed, smiling tentatively. “I know I’m acting weird and I’m sorry. I just… that woman gets under my skin.”

Arizona’s nose wrinkled at that and she made a show of literally biting her tongue. “My inner paranoid, jealous freak wants to comment on that, but instead I’m just going to say that I love you and I know that you can come up with a way to save this guy’s hand.” She pecked full lips quickly. “Because he’s an artist and so are you,” declared Arizona supportively.

Callie nodded between Arizona’s hands. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“You’re welcome,” Arizona answered with a smile. “Now, you go be a rockstar and I’ll find something for my new resident to do.”

“We’re still on for lunch, right?” Callie checked.

“Of course.” A blue eye sent her a wink and Callie felt the tension that lingered like a knot in her stomach dissolve entirely. Why should she worry about George or Izzie when she had Arizona? “And because you’re having a day, I’ll let you steal my fries and I won’t even make a face,” she offered cheerfully from the doorway, grinning when Callie shot her a look of exaggerated exasperation.

“I love you too!”

The grin on Arizona’s face didn’t fade or falter when she found Izzie at the nurses’ station, she just offered a hand to shake. “You’re on my service today, Dr. Stevens,” she announced. “I’m Dr. Robbins, Peds.”

“She really won’t work with me?”

“Nope,” Arizona answered, chipper. “And she’s my girlfriend, so let’s all watch what we say, alright?” Spotting Alex walking down the hall, she waved Izzie forward as she went to meet her protégé. “Karev, what have you got today?”

He shrugged, looking disappointed. “Nothing big. Couple of Appies and a bowel obstruction. Why?” He was eyeing Izzie and made little effort to hide his interest.

Arizona cleared her throat warningly, too familiar with that look on his face. “Alex Karev, this is Dr. Izzie Stevens. Stevens, Karev,” she introduced them. “Stevens is here for her boyfriend Dr. O’Malley, I believe,” she added, smirking as his face clouded and he glared at the new arrival. Things between him and Callie had been fine as soon as she’d reconciled with Arizona. But he’d been less than subtle about his dislike of the hospital’s newest trauma surgeon. “This is her first day in our residency program, so she will be observing your surgeries today,” she informed him, no room for argument in her tone. “I’ll be overseeing and asking questions to get a read on your abilities, Dr. Stevens.”

She just blinked at the pair, almost pouting. “You’re both Callie’s friends. How is this fair?”

“Girlfriend,” Arizona reminded her pointedly. “And I can assure you, we are being and will continue to be completely professional, Dr. Stevens. I don’t know you, so I don’t trust you to work on my patients. Until that changes, you will observe and answer questions. Understood?”

The younger blonde swallowed hard, nodding. “Yes ma’am.”

Arizona’s chipper smile returned in an instant. “Awesome. Alex, what’s up first?” she asked cheerfully, letting him lead her to the patient’s room while Izzie trailed behind them at a loss.

At lunch, Callie was sitting with her back toward George and Izzie, though Arizona noted that George seemed to be keeping his eyes on Callie. He really wasn’t getting it. “You know, with the way O’Malley stares over here, you’d think I was the other woman or something,” Arizona commented, taking her seat beside Callie.

The brunette stiffened in her chair. “He’s looking over here?” She muttered Spanish under her breath in frustration. Why the hell couldn’t he get this through his head? She was with Arizona and he needed to get his ass back to Florida and take Izzie with him.

The gossip about the two new arrivals and Callie had, of course, spread like wildfire through the hospital and Alex spoke up, teasing grin on his face, “Dude, no offense, but technically aren’t you the other woman?”

“Doesn’t Stark have some charts for you to do?” Arizona shot back, glaring daggers at her protégé. “For the next six months?” She was working on it, really she was, but it was still a touchy subject…

Karev quickly cleared his throat as he choked, one fist pounding his chest. “I said no offense.”

“That doesn’t actually make the stuff you say not offensive,” Callie reminded him shortly, matching her girlfriend’s tone and shooting a sharp glare of her own at him. “This is my fault, though. He’s not divorcing me, but I never should have married him, so it’s really my fault.” She rubbed Arizona’s leg comfortingly under the table. “You were never the other woman,” she leaned over to whisper to her. “I was drowning in Miami and you are like…coming up for air.”

Arizona’s answering smile was strained, but she rested her hand over Callie’s on her leg, lacing their fingers. “I believe you, Calliope. And I love you. I just hate that my girlfriend has a husband.”

Callie grimaced. “I hate it too.” Less than six months in, it was too soon to think of proposing to Arizona, but she wanted the freedom to do it when it was time. Because even if it was too soon for now, she knew that Arizona was the one she wanted with her, no matter how far into the future she imagined. “I swear to you, I’ll work it out. I’ll get divorced.”

“Great,” Arizona said, taking a final sip of her soda and clearing her throat. “I’m still breaking in my new resident, so I’ve got to go now, but I’ll see you tonight?”

“Definitely,” agreed Callie. “And thank you again. Really.”

The blonde leaned toward her, whispering in her ear as she stood up, “You can make it up to me when I get home tonight,” she promised. “Karev, if you’d collect Dr. Stevens, you can get started on the bowel resection.”

He crammed the last of his sandwich in his mouth, speaking around it. “On it, boss.” Arizona smirked as he walked off, one hand brushing crumbs off his scrubs as he shrugged back into his lab coat. “Hey, you, new chick, get up,” he grumbled as he passed the table where George and Izzie were sitting. “Time to work!”

“I’m training him so well,” Arizona commented with a smug smirk, obviously proud of her student.

Callie gave her an amused smile, glad that one of them was finding a way to enjoy this at least. “Love you.”

“Love you too.” They kissed quickly, the blonde kicking out her wheels to roll out of the cafeteria, Callie turning her head to watch her go.

“You’ve got it bad, girl,” Teddy commented, laughing. Her smile didn’t slip as she continued, “You’re serious with all this divorce stuff, right?”

Callie gave her a knowing look. “You can say what you really mean, Teddy. I’m not going to hurt her again. Arizona’s the one I need. I love her.”

The heart surgeon was still smiling and she sipped her coffee. “I didn’t ask you to defend yourself, Callie. I’m just trying to look out for my friend. Because you leaving will break her. So don’t break my friend.” There was friendly warning in her tone, but her smile was still pleasant.

Brown eyes blinked. “Has anyone ever told you that you can be a little bit scary?”

Teddy’s grin just widened and she laughed again. “I was in the Army. You pick it up hanging around all that testosterone.” Shrugging her shoulders, the blonde offered the rest of her fries as a peace offering. “I’m just saying, don’t get her hopes up about you if you’re going to stay with your husband.”

Callie shook her head, shooting a look over her shoulder to where George was sitting alone, his eyes on her. “No contest,” the Latina declared. “It’s Arizona.” She plucked up a fry and saluted her friend with it. “I’m glad you’re looking out for her.”

They exchanged friendly grins and Callie relaxed for the first time since Izzie had made her appearance earlier in the day. Thankfully, she didn’t have to deal with her anymore today. She had one more surgery for the day on the pulverized hand and then she was home free. Izzie would be in the OR with Arizona and Alex until after she’d left for the day. It meant that she and Arizona couldn’t ride home together, but she’d leave the T-bird for her girlfriend, a peace offering a bit bigger than a basket of French fries.

“And if you’re really not pissed at me, maybe you could give me a ride home?” Callie asked. “I rode in with Arizona this morning, but she doesn’t get off for a few hours after…”

“And letting her drive your car will get you out of trouble,” guessed Teddy. “Sure,” she laughingly agreed. “As long as nothing comes into the ER, I’ll be off at five.”

“Awesome,” Callie said, not noticing what she’d said until the heart surgeon laughed. “Oh my God,” murmured the brunette, shaking her head. “I really do have it so bad!”

Still laughing, Teddy stood up. “So does she, Callie, don’t worry,” she offered, waving. “I’ve got to check on some post-ops, but I’ll see you in the locker room around five?”

“Definitely. And thanks, you know, for the ride.”

*****

Callie’s day was complete with building a titanium mesh skeleton for a man’s hand, a repair that was artistic itself, and one that she was confident had a good chance of success. People could pull off amazing things when they wanted them bad enough. And this man wanted his hand. She was glad she’d been able to give it back to him. Teddy joined her in the attending locker room as she was dropping her scrub cap into the hamper. “How’d it go?” the heart surgeon asked, shrugging out of her lab coat as she passed Callie and went to her own cubby.

“Went well, but I’m beat.” She couldn’t help the proud smile that escaped. “He’s got a lot of rehab ahead of him, but if he works hard, he won’t have to give up his art.”

Teddy studied her for a moment, hearing something in her voice that made her pause for a bit of consideration. “I know that look,” she declared, breaking into a smirk. “Are you sure you don’t want to wait for Robbins? After big surgeries you two normally tear up one of the on-call rooms, don’t you?”

Blushing and praying her friend wouldn’t see it, Callie turned back to her locker to swap shirts, tugging a long-sleeved tee over her head gratefully. “No, home is fine. I kind of put my foot in it earlier when Izzie showed up. I want to make it up to her.”

“Nice!” Teddy approved, nodding with a grin.

They caught rush hour traffic, but Callie still had plenty of time to get started on a nice dinner, homemade enchiladas that were Arizona’s favorites. Literally the last thing she wanted was a page from George O’Malley.

Ignoring it with a grumble, she went back to cooking. There was only one thing that she wanted to hear from her ex-husband and that was that he was finally signing the divorce papers. She wasn’t even sure what he was holding onto so tightly - when they’d been together she’d always felt that her feelings were stronger than his. He’d pushed her away for almost the entirety of their brief marriage, anytime Izzie Stevens made a comment about her, but now that he was free he wasn’t letting go and she couldn’t understand it.

The chime repeated from her pager and she checked it with a growl of frustration. This one wasn’t from George O’Malley though, but from Alex Karev and it was a 911. Frowning, she wracked her brain for cases that she’d shared with Peds lately. Nothing came to mind. It must be a fresh incoming.

Dialing her phone, she was surprised in spite of the 911 when he answered on the first ring. “Karev, what’s up? I’m at the house and I’m not on call.”

“You need to get back here,” he said, voice hoarse. “Now.”

The tone in his voice sent a chill through her and a fist squeezed her heart. “What’s wrong?”

“Get here,” he repeated himself and she could hear the ER in the background. It sounded busy, the ambulance siren loud and then cut off as the doors slid closed behind him.

“Alex, what happened?”

He cleared his throat gruffly, his voice cracking. “Torres, just get here.”

“Tell me,” Callie pleaded. Alex Karev was a good doctor, but no case would make him sound like this. Clearly whatever was going on was personal.

There was a long moment of loaded silence. “It’s Robbins. Get here.”

He said more, but she wasn’t hearing him, couldn’t hear anything but the blood rushing through her head. Arizona had her car, and Teddy was long gone, but Arizona’s Jeep was still in the driveway. However, all of a sudden, she couldn’t remember for the life of her where her girlfriend kept her keys. She rarely needed them, preferring to drive Callie’s Thunderbird whenever she had the chance. It took precious, long, seemingly infinite minutes to find the drawer of spare keys and pull out the one she needed.

Screeching into the ambulance bay at the hospital, the key was left in the ignition as she dashed through the doors into the Emergency Room, ignoring the protests as she left it abandoned. “Arizona!” There was, of course, no answer, everyone too busy with their work, but Alex Karev popped out of the crowd, his expression tight with worry. “Karev, what the hell happened? Where’s Arizona!?”

“Trauma room 1,” he answered her, grabbing her arm quickly when she started toward it. “We can’t go in. I thought you’d want to know, but O’Malley has her. We can’t go in.”

Callie turned to gape at him in disbelief. “George? George has her? Where the hell is Hunt?!”

“I paged him, he’s on his way.” Alex scowled, looking at the closed door. “O’Malley’s good, right? He can handle this? Because if he - if she…”

Finishing the statement in her head, Callie could feel her throat dry in an instant. “He’s a good doctor, Alex.” She knew how deeply the younger man cared for Arizona, even if they acted themselves like it was nothing. “Really. But how bad is she? What happened?!”

Before he could answer her, the trauma room door opened, George and his team pushing the gurney into the ER. Arizona curled up around pain in her chest, but her eyes found Callie and Alex and she scrabbled one hand along the railing. “Wait,” she croaked painfully. “Calliope…” The Latina rushed forward, taking her hand gingerly and pressing kisses to the back of it. “I’m sorry,” Arizona ground out, coughing.

“Callie,” George tried to interject, but Callie resolutely ignored him. “We need to get her to surgery. There’s internal bleeding.”

“Calliope,” Arizona called again, drawing in as deep a breath as she could stand. “I think I wrecked your car,” she confessed, slumping back weakly in the bed before George signaled that they get moving again. The brunette couldn’t help the bark of laughter that escaped. Only Arizona would care about the stupid car when she was bleeding internally.

Callie started to follow them, glaring as George stepped into her way. “Karev, page Bailey,” she said, staring down her husband. “I want her in there.” He nodded, standing at her shoulder for a long moment before he moved off to find the attending. Callie crossed her arms, tension and warning in her stance as she pinned George with a look. “If anything happens to her, I’ll end you,” she stated seriously.

He frowned, considering her. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes, Callie, but you know I’m a good doctor.”

“I know,” she agreed, releasing a breath in a huff. She really did know that he was a good doctor. He could do this. But she’d never had someone she loved going under the knife before. “I need her, George. And as much as I might not trust you to stay away from Izzie Stevens, I have to trust you to save Arizona.” Her dark eyes were serious. “Don’t let me down again.” She pushed past him without another word. She knew she wouldn’t be allowed near the surgery, particularly not with Bailey in the room, but she’d fight anyone that tried to keep her out of the gallery.

Alex was already there when she arrived, flopping heavily into the seat next to him. They watched in silence as Arizona went under, her body pale and still beneath the drapes. The staff and surgeons came in, George and Bailey both looking up to them in the gallery, the shorter woman giving the pair a reassuring nod.

Neither one could watch as they opened her up, flinching away from the sight of the knife on Arizona’s skin. Callie realized she was holding her breath as she met Karev’s eyes. “Do you know what happened to her? A car wreck, is that what she said?”

He nodded, unconsciously wringing his hands between his knees and leaning forward on his elbows. “Some jackass ran the light up the block. I think your car got t-boned, sorry.” She waved that off. The only thing that she couldn’t replace was Arizona. The car didn’t matter. In fact, it would probably upset Arizona more to lose the T-bird than it would upset her. “She was only a few blocks away, so they got her here quickly. She stayed conscious the whole time, but CT showed blood in her abdomen.”

It was upsetting, but none of it sounded terribly dangerous if they’d gotten her into surgery so quickly. And Bailey was down there. Arizona was going to be fine. Anything else wasn’t an option. “Any bones broken? Other injuries?”

“She broke her arm and cracked her head pretty good on the steering wheel, but Shepherd cleared her,” Karev answered, clearing his throat. “Listen, I’m not great at all this sitting and waiting bull…”

Callie nodded her head toward the door over their shoulders. “Go on. I’ll page you when she’s out of surgery.”

“Thanks,” he said, clapping one hand to her shoulder as he shoved himself to his feet.

Watching the surgery, Callie leaned over, elbows on knees, as she stared. Teddy joined her before it was over, sitting in the row behind her without speaking. When they’d finished closing, Bailey repeated her nod up at the gallery and Callie let out a breath of relief, feeling like it was her first breath since her phone had rung hours before. But Arizona was alright, was going to stay that way.

“Callie?” Teddy’s voice was hesitant, the touch on her shoulder light.

“Just give me a minute,” Callie requested breathlessly. “I need a minute, here.”

Teddy nodded in understanding. “She’s going to be sleeping for a while yet. I’ll page you when she starts waking up?”

“Thank you.” Callie didn’t look up. “Would you page Karev too?”

“Of course,” Teddy murmured, leaving the other woman alone.

All she’d wanted from tonight was cooking a nice dinner for her girlfriend and hopefully some sex. Having her ex-husband operate on the woman she loved was not even on her radar. His voice was definitely not something she wanted to hear right now, either. “Callie…”

“Oh, God, why can’t you just leave me alone, George?!” she grumbled, leaning over further so her forehead was resting on her knees. “My girlfriend, the woman I love, was in an accident and you saved her, I’ll always be grateful for that. And I even forgive you for sleeping with Izzie. But it doesn’t change things for me. I love Arizona. You and I should have never gotten married.”

“Are you even going to let me talk?” George spoke up softly, Callie leaning away as he settled into the seat beside her.

“I’ve asked you to leave Seattle, George. I’ve asked you to sign the papers and leave us alone.” Callie sighed, frustrated and impatient with him, with the situation. Arizona had been incredible, dealing with her lie, with George being in their hospital, but she knew there was no way for them to move forward as long as George O’Malley stood in their way. “You don’t want to listen to me, so why would I let you talk?”

George was quiet for a long moment. “We never had that, did we? The way you feel about her… I saw you when I was operating. I could see how you feel about her. It’s all over your face when you even hear her name.” He sighed heavily, regretfully. “You’re a different person with her, Callie. I think you’re happy with her. We never had that. We didn’t make each other happy like that.”

“We never had that,” Callie confirmed. “You were hurting and I was convenient.” She could feel his flinch without seeing it. “It’s not just your fault, George,” she confessed honestly, tone going softer. “You asked, but I should have said no. But I was into you and you were hurting and we made a mistake.”

“Not the only mistake,” he said regretfully, drawing her eyes for the first time since his entrance. They’d never talked about their relationship so candidly before. It was a surprisingly good feeling, admitting that they were wrong.

“George, I don’t love you and I know you don’t love me, not like we should have, so why are you being so damn stubborn about signing the divorce papers? I mean, we got married in Vegas by an Elvis, for God’s sake!” She’d done a lot of things in her life, but that remained her moment of highest trashiness.

He sighed again, shaking his head, and she was surprised to feel a burst of sympathy for him. He’d been through a lot in the last year and a half, and she wasn’t the only thing he’d lost. “We’re Catholic, Callie. It’s a big decision, divorce.” That was a reason, though not actually the biggest one. “And because signing meant that I screwed up another thing in my life,” he admitted, glancing sideways at her. “You’re right, we shouldn’t have gotten married, but we did. And after I lost my dad I didn’t want to sign those papers and tell the world, or my mother, that I couldn’t do being married.”

Callie’s face slacked. “Oh God. Your mom…” Mrs. O’Malley was by far the thing she had loved most about being a part of George’s family, a loving, supportive mother a nice treat after her own mother’s abandonment. She was also extremely religious. The older woman would be devastated to learn they weren’t together anymore, that Callie wanted a divorce.

He gave her a sad smile. “She always loved you.”

“I love her too,” she choked out. “But you understand that we have to do this divorce, right? I’m with Arizona. I want to marry her someday. So I need to not be married to you anymore.”

Nodding, George pulled a manila envelope up from between his leg and the chair’s armrest. He offered it to her with another slow, small, sad smile. “For what it’s worth, I never wanted to hurt you. I’m sorry.”

She returned his smile weakly as she pulled the packet of papers out of the envelope. His signature was above hers on the lines at the bottom. “I’m sorry too,” Callie whispered. “But thank you.” Her pager beeped on her hip with a room number. “And thank you for what you did for Arizona. I appreciate it.”

He gave her a nod, finality in the gesture. “Least I could do for you, Callie.”

Standing up, Callie didn’t pause on her way to Arizona. There was nothing to look back for anymore. Her entire life, the future she wanted, was all waiting for her.


	11. Chapter 11

Arizona smiled weakly as Callie appeared in her doorway, the brunette muttering under her breath in Spanish as she crossed the room to capture her girlfriend’s lips. “Mmh,” Arizona moaned as the quick, firm kiss ended. “I’m glad to see you too,” she said tiredly, though she was smiling. Her eyes were hooded, barely opened.

“God, Arizona, I’m so glad you’re okay,” Callie gasped, leaning her forehead against Arizona’s gratefully. The blonde sniffled , blinking at her as her face screwed up like she was going to cry. “Sweetie, oh God, what hurts?” She shot a look over her shoulder at Teddy. “Get Bailey!”

“No, nothing hurts,” Arizona said quickly. That wasn’t true, lots of things hurt at the moment. “I just - I think your car’s totaled, baby.”

Callie almost fell over in relief, one hand covering Arizona’s cheek while the other clung to the side of the bed, the envelope containing her divorce papers falling forgotten to the floor. “Jesus, Arizona! Don’t do that!” A thumb curled over her partner’s cheek. “You’re going to give me a heart attack!” She couldn’t believe it when the blonde almost pouted at her. “And you’re here and you’re going to be okay, so I honestly couldn’t give a damn about a car.”

“You love that car,” protested Arizona.

Callie couldn’t stop herself from kissing her again, short and hard. “It was my very favorite car, sure, but you are my very favorite person and there’s no contest, Arizona.” She drew her head back to get a better look at Arizona’s injuries, aware that they weren’t alone but not caring. Teddy and Karev knew how they felt about each other.

Arizona’s left arm was in a cast from the elbow to the base of her fingers and Callie caught herself wondering where and which bones had been broken. And how hard would Bailey kick her ass if she took a look at the films? Her skin was pale, blue eyes shadowed and heavy, her hair laying limp and flat against her pillow.

“You’re beautiful,” Callie whispered, unable and unwilling to stop herself.

Arizona’s chuckle was hoarse and her injured hand covered her chest. “You’re a liar,” she countered.

“Nah, she’s right, boss, you’re still pretty hot,” Karev chimed in. Both of the women at the bed shot looks at him and he crossed his arms. “Not like I’d do you or anything…”

Callie straightened up and turned toward him slowly, threat to his person obvious. Arizona grabbed her hand quickly before she could move to beat down her protégé. “Thanks for being here, Alex,” she said, smiling at the younger man. “I’m glad you’re here.” She glanced up at Callie. “Thank you for calling Calliope for me.”

Callie’s shoulders relaxed and she blinked, releasing a deep breath. He had been the one to get her here. She would have lost her mind if she had only found out that something had happened when Arizona didn’t show up for dinner. “Thank you, Karev,” she added, earnest.

He nodded, leaning against the wall next to the door. “I know you hate sitting around and waiting,” Arizona said, giving him a tired, knowing look. “You can go. You’ve done your roommate duty and visited. Your ass is covered, I’m not kicking you out of the house. Go find some kids to save,” she offered.

Alex saluted her gratefully, grinning. “Thanks, boss. Glad you didn’t die. Later!”

The three remaining women exchanged smiles, familiar with his gruff nature. “We really are glad you’re okay,” Teddy agreed, moving up to the other side of the bed to smile at her best friend. “The surgery went perfectly smooth, though I don’t think I heard Callie take a breath the entire time.”

Arizona’s blue eyes were concerned as she shifted her gaze to her girlfriend. “Calliope, you were watching? Wha - Bailey let you watch?” The diminutive surgeon entered the room herself just then and Arizona’s gaze narrowed at her friend. “You let her watch the surgery? She’s not a doctor today, she’s a loved one! Why would you let her watch?!”

Bailey just raised an eyebrow and waved Callie out of her way as she came to check on Arizona’s monitors. “I know you’re not yelling at me, Dr. Robbins,” she said coolly. “Because Dr. Torres might be your girlfriend, but she is my colleague. She’s welcome to sit and observe any procedure she wants to.” Arizona and Callie exchanged surprised glances. Bailey could normally be counted on to be professional in the extreme. “But if you’re going to insist that Callie be treated as family, I’ll be forced to remind you that the family members of post-op patients have extremely limited visiting hours.”

Arizona blinked in realization, reaching around Bailey to take Callie’s hand, relieved when the Latina laced their fingers together. “Oh, um, no. Dr. Torres needs to stay.” Arizona tried a shallow grin. “My arm’s broken, you know? And she’s in Ortho.”

“I’m aware, Dr. Robbins,” Bailey agreed, smiling in spite of herself. “Does your broken arm hurt?”

“Nope,” the blonde answered as cheerfully as she could, her voice hoarse and thick with pain. “Everything feels fine.”

“Does the incision hurt at all?”

“It’s a little bit sore,” Arizona admitted as her doctor pulled her gown up to check the site herself. “When can I get out of here?”

“Two days minimal for abdominal surgery and you know it,” Bailey answered her.

Growling in frustration, Arizona rolled her eyes. “Can I at least wear normal clothes? I work here, I shouldn’t have to sit here bare assed for two days!”

“I’ll get you something,” Teddy promised her, smirking at her friend while Bailey stared her down for daring to curse in front of her. “Now. I’ll get you something now,” the heart surgeon offered, backing out of the room quickly. Even if they were all technically at the same level of authority in the hospital, it went without saying that really Bailey was over all of them. It was just how a sane person instinctively reacted to the surgeon.

“Colleagues or not, your visitors will need to leave soon,” Bailey warned Callie gently, giving both of them a look. Making notes in Arizona’s chart, she frowned at the envelope Callie had dropped, stooping to pick it up. “Is this mine?”

Callie quickly snatched it, suddenly remembering her news, the divorce papers finally getting signed being wiped away in her relief at seeing Arizona awake. “Oh, no, this is mine, actually!”

Arizona frowned in confusion, trying to think. “Did you stop and get my x-rays or something?”

Bailey blinked, scowling at Callie. “No, but I would like to see them.” She smiled at the envelope, swatting Arizona’s arm lightly with it. “This is a surprise for you.”

Arizona took it with her broken arm, fumbling one-handed with the metal clasp. “Should I open it now?”

“I’ll show it to you,” Callie promised, feeling giddy with the reminder that after one short trip to the lawyer’s, she was a single woman.

“I’m going away before it gets personal in here,” Bailey declared suddenly, taking one look at Callie’s face and using the chart to cover her head as she retreated.

Arizona could see her intercept Teddy as the taller surgeon came back with Arizona’s scrubs. Teddy was frowning as she came to the door, confused and hesitant. “Bailey told me to drop these off and run away. Is everything okay?”

“Apparently it’s about to get personal in here,” Arizona said, mimicking Bailey’s voice and sending a confused look at her girlfriend. She shrugged. “I have no idea. Calliope’s got me a present or something in this envelope, though.”

Teddy put the clothing on the foot of the bed, giving Callie a look herself. After their conversation at lunch and the unexpected accident she wondered if the brunette had made some kind of radical decision. “Is everything alright?” Callie nodded reassuringly, trying to hide her smile. “But personal?”

“Kind of,” Callie answered them both, seeing Arizona’s look. “But we can do it later if you two want to sit and talk.”

The heart surgeon waved it off when she saw Arizona’s curious, considering look at the manila envelope. “That’s alright. I’ll just catch you in the morning.”

“Ooh, breakfast?” queried Arizona eagerly, eyes jumping from her envelop to her best friend.

Teddy laughed, nodding. “Of course! I’ll bring you donuts,” she promised. “Night, guys.”

Arizona sat up as much as she could with her broken arm, eagerly shaking her envelope. “What do you think it’s going to do?” Callie teased lightly. Her girlfriend really was the cutest person alive. And she was finally free to give her everything. Committing to Arizona was going to be all she could think about now.

“I don’t know! Open it! Open it!”

“Let’s get you changed,” Callie suggested instead, glancing over her shoulder to make sure the door was closed. “Arms up.”

Arizona pouted but obeyed, raising one arm at a time and letting Callie pull the hospital gown off and replace it with her navy blue scrub top. Putting the pants on was made easier when Arizona insisted on standing up, hanging onto Callie’s shoulder with her good hand, hating the invalid feeling. “This better be an awesome surprise, Calliope,” she grumbled as she climbed wearily back into her bed, kicking her feet under the blankets.

Laughing, Callie reached over and took the papers from beside her, flicking open the thin metal closure and handing it back. “Here you go. I hope it lives up to expectations.”

Looking like nothing so much as a kid on Christmas, Arizona eagerly dumped the envelope into her lap and used her cast to turn the pages right side up so she could read them, leaning over for a better look. Callie bit her lip as she waited for blue eyes to reach the bottom of the page, smiling hopefully when Arizona’s gaze shot up to find her, a dazzling dimpled smile growing on her mouth.

“You’re divorced?! You got a divorce?! Calliope, when, why didn’t you tell me?” Arizona chattered excitedly.

“It just happened.” Callie couldn’t help laughing. She felt lighter than she had in weeks, the stress of dealing with her husband and her girlfriend coexisting weighing her down more than she’d realized that it had. And that was saying nothing of how much Arizona had had to cope with. But it was all over now. It was still early in their relationship, they’d only been dating barely four months, but she could marry Arizona right now if she wanted to. And if Arizona wanted to get married, of course. “And I still have to take the papers to my lawyer tomorrow, but then I will be divorced,” she agreed.

“When did this happen?”

Lighting up at the smile on Arizona’s face, Callie took a seat on the edge of her bed. “Literally twenty minutes ago. George found me after the surgery. We talked and he gave me the signed papers.”

Arizona’s expression sobered just a little, dimpled smile still in place. “Are you okay? I mean, with everything? I know the divorce is a big deal for you…”

Callie shook her head, covering Arizona’s good hand with her own. “I’m excited. I’m glad it’s finally all over. Now I can look forward to our future and not feel bad about anything.”

Arizona felt a thrill shoot down her spine at the word our in reference to the future. Callie saw their future. It made her heart beat faster and the monitor beeped more quickly to keep pace, giving away her excitement. “Is George staying around Seattle? Izzie?”

“I have no idea,” Callie said, shrugging. “And I honestly don’t care. They can do whatever they want. And now, so can I.” The suggestion was clear and Arizona’s heartbeat reacted accordingly, the monitor chirping quickly. “Arizona, baby? Do I need to get Bailey?”

“No, no, I’m okay.” She pouted suddenly. “You just had to get divorced when I’m trapped in the hospital and we can’t celebrate, didn’t you?” The teasing made Callie’s smile grow and she kissed the back of her girlfriend’s hand. “Oh, you’ve got to do better than that, Calliope,” Arizona stated, shaking her head and seizing the front of Callie’s shirt to keep her close.

Callie leaned in, though she kept the kiss more gentle than it had been in the rush of relief she’d felt just as she’d arrived. She could take her time. There was no rush for anything. She wasn’t married, and thank God, Arizona was going to be alright. “Scoot over,” she coaxed, breathing the words against her girlfriend’s lips.

It was Arizona’s turn for a concerned frown, even as she moved to give Callie room to join her. “Are you okay?”

“Shh.” Callie gratefully wrapped an arm across her girlfriend’s waist, one leg curling to cover Arizona’s legs. “I just - I want to be close to you.”

Arizona was quiet. The divorce was clearly second in Callie’s mind to the accident she’d had. She stroked her good hand over the Latina’s forearm, turning her face to kiss her temple. “I want that too, Calliope.” She yawned, wanting to stay awake and reassure Callie that she wasn’t going anywhere, but so soon after surgery, she wasn’t able to help herself. “Will you talk to me? I’m sleepy.”

Callie nuzzled into a pale neck, kissing a small scratch lightly. She hated the sight of anything marking Arizona’s skin. “What do you want me to talk about, sweetness?”

Sighing tiredly, Arizona felt her eyes fall closed. It almost didn’t matter what Callie talked about, she wouldn’t be awake long enough to hear much of anything. She just wanted to hear Callie’s voice talk her to sleep. Callie had such a sexy voice. Of course, it matched everything else she had. “Tell me how the hand surgery went,” she requested, mumbling.

Callie was surprised. It didn’t even feel like she was still in the same day that she’d been rebuilding a hand from scratch. “Well, it worked,” she whispered, fingers rubbing gentle, idle patterns across the blonde’s stomach. “He’ll get to keep doing his art.”

“My girl’s a hardcore badass,” Arizona murmured, obviously proud. “Builds hands like God.”

“And I was going to make you dinner tonight to make up for being such a freak about Izzie earlier, but I guess it’ll have to wait a few days,” Callie continued, knowing that Arizona didn’t really care what she talked about, just wanted to get talked to until she fell asleep.

“You were making me dinner? That’s so sweet,” Arizona cooed without opening her eyes. “Sorry I ruined it.”

“Shut up,” Callie cut her off shortly. “The only way anything is ruined is if you weren’t here with me now.”

“Yeah, but I bet I was going to get laid,” Arizona pointed out, her voice heavy with sleep. “Now I’m not. That’s my definition of ruined.”

Callie knew Arizona was just teasing her to get her to relax and she was grateful because she didn’t want to even think about the alternative. “You’ll get laid,” she promised, laughing. One blue eye forced itself open, eyebrow arching curiously. “Not until we get you home, though.”

Frowning with her eyes closed, Arizona grumbled under her breath, the words unintelligible. Her broken arm shifted to cover Callie’s knee as she squirmed onto her less injured side. Callie trailed her hand up and down the blonde’s side, leaning her head up on her other arm to watch Arizona. She knew Arizona didn’t love her tendency to watch her sleep, but she couldn’t help herself today. And the blonde was unconscious. She’d never know to protest.

Bailey, of course, had plenty to say about Callie spending the night in her patient’s bed, but Callie refused her friend’s efforts to force her out of the room for the night. They argued in the doorway, Callie standing her ground on the inside of the doorframe and keeping her voice at a hissing whisper so she wouldn’t disturb Arizona. “Bailey, if you kick me out I’m just going to be sleeping in the closest on-call room I can find. I might as well just stay in here!”

“Dr. Torres, it was a routine surgery that went as smoothly as it possibly could have gone,” Bailey reminded her, almost offended. She’d done a perfect procedure and Torres wouldn’t leave the room. It was insulting.

Realizing her mistake, Callie shook her head. “I’m not scared something’s going to happen, Miranda! I know you took good care of her.” She glanced sheepishly over her shoulder. “It’s actually so much more pathetic,” she confessed. “I just don’t want to be away from her.” She sighed as she met her friend’s eyes, shrugging her shoulders. “I know, it’s pathetic and so not hardcore, but I got divorced today and she was in an accident and I don’t want to go home and sleep alone.”

The shorter woman sighed herself, shaking her head as she made a final note on Arizona’s chart. “At least request a cot, Torres,” she said, glancing up at her with the glimmer of a smile on the corners of her mouth.

Callie grinned, leaning out of the room to call after her, “You think we’re adorable! You can admit it, Bailey!”

“Good night, Dr. Torres!” Bailey waved over her shoulder as she turned the corner.

Arizona stirred as Callie turned back to her, blonde curls lying flat against her cheek. She jumped as she moved her broken arm and unintentionally hit herself with the cast. She didn’t wake though, just frowned cutely in her sleep. The look smoothed off of her face as Callie quietly crept back to her side and leaned over to press a kiss to her hair, one hand pulling the blankets up over the blonde’s side.

Callie forced herself not to drop back into the chair at Arizona’s bedside, knowing that she would spend the next day regretting it if she fell asleep in the chair. A nurse was quick to bring her a cot, the thin portable mattress uncomfortable but preferable to sleeping in bed at home alone. As she settled against the hospital issued pillow, it occurred to her that the bed she was thinking of wasn’t the one at her apartment, but rather the one they shared at Arizona’s house. They’d been sleeping in the same bed more often than not since they’d met, even on nights that they didn’t have sex. Sleeping with Arizona was comfortable, familiar, and safe. Even just being in the room with her now, gentle breathing overlaid by the beeping of the monitors, was home. She didn’t even notice drifting off.

Waking up wasn’t as pleasurable as usual, Callie jerking awake suddenly instead of being pulled to consciousness gradually with a path of kisses over her skin in the way Arizona normally enjoyed waking her up on mornings they had the time. A grunt of displeasure was greeted with a laugh from the other bed, Callie sitting up and tousling her hair. “You’re always all grumpy when you wake up,” Arizona commented. “It’s kind of cute.”

Rubbing her eyes, Callie arched an eyebrow at her. “Cute, huh? Did Derek check your head yesterday?”

Arizona giggled, dimpled smile in place as she watched her girlfriend stretching. Her own body ached and her arm itched like crazy beneath her cast. In addition, she was hungry, adding to her discomfort. “It is cute,” she insisted, stretching herself gingerly. “I know the secret of turning that frown upside down.” Tousling her own hair and grimacing at the reminder that she needed to take a shower, her own expression grew grumpy.

“And you’re normally more of a morning person,” noted Callie, bemused by the change in her girlfriend’s demeanor. “What’s that look for?”

“My hair is gross. I feel nasty. I want to take a shower! I want to go home!” Blue eyes gave her girlfriend a curious look. “How come you didn’t go home? I know our bed is more comfortable than that thing.” She sent the narrow cot a derisive look.

Catching the plural in Arizona’s statement, Callie hid a smile. “Our bed, huh? And when you say ‘our bed’ do you mean the one at your house or my apartment?” she asked, eyes bouncing around the room without settling on a target.

Arizona grinned. “You mean I haven’t asked you to move in yet? That’s stupid of me, isn’t it?” 

Callie’s eyes landed on her, surprise clear in her gaze. “I don’t expect anything, Arizona. You had to deal with me being married, and not telling you, and moving in would have been too much.”

“Well, you’re not married anymore,” Arizona reminded her cheerfully. Her smile abruptly froze. “Unless you’re having second thoughts…” She swallowed thickly. “I-I-”

Callie was seated on the side of her bed a second later, one hand lightly covering her girlfriend’s lips. “Don’t you finish that sentence,” she stated warningly. “I’m never going to have second thoughts about you, Arizona.” A kiss on her fingers made her smile. “If I take my hand down are you going to keep talking crazy like the possibility that I could possibly love someone more that I love you?” Blonde hair fell in her face as she shook her head, Arizona pushing it back clumsily with her cast. Callie removed her hand to help, two fingers pushing the lock of hair behind her ear gently. “Good. Moron,” Callie murmured fondly, leaning in to follow the path of her hand and kissing her softly.

Arizona quickly dropped her bottom lip, sucking on Callie’s full lip. Letting a moan escape, her good hand slid across a smooth, tanned cheek and into dark hair. She loved Calliope’s hair. There was no time to appreciate it properly though, as Bailey came through the door.

“Dr. Torres, do you not have rounds this morning?” the new arrival questioned, not looking up for Arizona’s chart.

They separated with a sigh, Callie grimacing in regret. “I mean, yeah, I guess I do.”

“Go be awesome,” Arizona offered, nodding toward the door. “You’ll know where to find me later.”

Frowning, Callie glanced at Bailey. “Are you sure? I could stay…”

“It’s okay, Calliope. Bailey needs to check me out so I can get out of here. And Teddy promised to bring me donuts for breakfast. I know you’ve got work to do.” She nodded again toward the door. “Give me a kiss and go.”

Callie could hear Bailey’s huff of exasperation but it didn’t stop her. When she wanted to kiss Arizona, she was going to kiss her. Anything she wanted to have with Arizona, she could have. Nothing at all was in her way anymore.


	12. Chapter 12

Without even realizing that she was doing it, Callie started going home after work to Arizona’s house in the months after Arizona’s accident. Even on days she knew that the blonde wouldn’t be able to join her until later, or even on days she knew that Arizona wouldn’t be coming home at all, she still ended up at the big house instead of her small, lonely apartment. She didn’t give up her place though, because Arizona hadn’t technically asked her to move in, just joked about it while on pain medication. And she couldn’t start that conversation. Not after everything she’d asked of Arizona by hiding her marriage. She couldn’t talk about moving in together - it had to be what Arizona wanted.

“Do you live here yet?” Alex asked as though he could read her mind, flopping onto the other end of the couch from where she was reading. The television hummed as he turned it on, though he did turn down the blaring volume when she glared at him. “Because I could use a break on the rent.”

“Give me a break, Karev,” Arizona chimed in as she entered, Callie jumping as she heard her girlfriend’s voice. “You pay two fifty a month! That’s your half of the utilities!”

Damn. She hadn’t realized that Arizona was home and this wasn’t an issue she’d expected to have addressed in front of Alex Karev. “Hey…”

“Hey baby,” Arizona greeted her, practically humming as she leaned over the back of the couch to peck her neck. “Whatcha reading? Anything good?” Her arms settled around Callie’s shoulders and she drew in a deep breath. Callie smelled good. It was typical, of course. She smelled amazing all the time. Arizona couldn’t help planting more kisses along the warm, tanned neck. “You smell good,” she whispered when she reached Callie’s ear, licking the shell.

Glancing sideways at Alex even as she leaned her head to give Arizona more room, she caught the younger man’s smirk. “Arizona,” she breathed, not sure herself if she was encouraging her or discouraging her.

Abruptly the book was pulled out of her hand and she heard it hit the floor behind the couch with a plop, Arizona vaulting herself over the back of the couch to take its place. Callie huffed as her girlfriend landed in her lap, the blonde sliding down to leave her upper body across Callie’s legs.

“Oh, come on,” Alex complained, bringing them back to the previous topic. “If Torres moved in we’d pay thirds!”

“I’m not charging my girlfriend to live here,” stated Arizona decisively, leaning her head back against Callie’s leg. Callie obliged her in some contact by combing fingers into her loose blonde hair.

Karev scoffed. “Technically she doesn’t live here. She’s paying to not live somewhere else.”

Callie let her eyes fall closed, holding her breath. This wasn’t how she wanted this subject to be dealt with. She could feel Arizona’s gaze on her but she didn’t open her eyes. “Calliope… Look at me,” Arizona coaxed. Brown eyes peeked open slowly, one at a time. “I haven’t asked you to move in yet.”

“I know. I didn’t - he, Alex, I’m going to kill you!” Callie stuttered, glaring at him.

Arizona’s hand on her chin turned her face back to look at her. “I haven’t asked but that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to move in. I mean, you practically live here anyway.” She sat up a little bit, fingers trailing down Callie’s neck and hooking in the collar of her shirt. “Do you even want to live here?”

The question was asked with a dimpled grin on her lips. They didn’t spend nights apart anymore, hadn’t since the car accident. “I want to be with you,” Callie answered diplomatically, answering the question while simultaneously not answering.

Arizona caught the subtlety though, and she sat up, removing herself from her girlfriend’s lap and turning to face her, folding her legs up on the couch. “That wasn’t what I asked you, Calliope. I know we’ve only been together for six months, but if you don’t want to live with me, you can say it…”

“Of course I do, Arizona, but I can’t - I was married…”

“So you won’t move in until we get married?!” Arizona blurted out, clearly surprised.

“No! Babe, no! I’m just saying, I was married and I didn’t tell you…”

“Okay…” Now she was confused, one hand tousling her blonde waves of hair while she tried to puzzle out Callie’s meaning. “I remember, but…”

Clearing his throat, Alex stood up abruptly. “I’m going to make some popcorn.”

They both watched him flee, Arizona sighing as she turned her head back toward Callie. She looked perfect with her hair mussed and an almost pout on her lips. “Okay, I’m just going to be quiet, and you can explain what the hell you’re talking about, okay?”

“I hid something huge from you, I hurt your trust, and I can’t ask you about moving in,” Callie tried to do as she’d been asked. “It’s not fair…”

A frown drew Arizona’s brows together and then they rose as understanding sunk in. “Wait, you think you owe me something? Calliope…”

“I love you, Arizona. And I want to live with you more than anything. It’s - it’s not - it’s just - I can’t be the one to bring up moving in together.”

Arizona’s frown returned, deeper. “Okay, so wait, you’re saying that moving in has to be my choice because, what, you think you can’t bring up living together because you hid the fact that you were married? You think you have to make something up to me?” She was clearly incredulous. “Calliope Torres, this is a relationship! We’re supposed to decide things together.” She slapped her girlfriend’s arm, making her jump. “I can’t believe you! We could have been living together for months if you…” Callie just bit her lip and Arizona rolled her eyes. “Calliope, will you please move in with me already?! Is that what you needed to hear?!”

Knowing that she probably shouldn’t, Callie laughed. “That is what I wanted to hear, but not exactly why I didn’t bring it up…”

“Then what was it? Because I don’t get it,” Arizona said, clearly frustrated, pouting as Callie laughed again.

Both hands reached for Arizona’s arms, tugging her forward. “Come on,” she coaxed. “Lay back down.” Arizona huffed but obeyed, turning around and putting her head back in Callie’s lap. Strong fingers combed through her hair, drawing the blonde lengths between them. “I want to move in with you, Arizona. I have for months. But I know I hurt you with the whole George thing, and then when Izzie showed up I didn’t help myself.”

“How does any of this add up to you not moving in?” Arizona was still petulant.

“I hurt you,” Callie continued quickly, fingers moving to trace her girlfriend’s brows and lips. “And I guess I was waiting on you to bring up living together because that would mean - I don’t know - that you weren’t…” She grimaced, still struggling to figure out the best way to explain why she’d been sitting on her hands about the whole thing.

“Still hurt?” Arizona finished the statement, sighing. “Calliope…” She shifted her head against the Latina’s thigh. “Baby, I love you. And I love you for giving me time to deal with all this, and I was hurt that you didn’t tell me about George until he literally walked into our life. It did hurt,” Callie winced, apology already on her lips, “You lied to me. And that hurt. Have you lied to me about anything else?” Callie shook her head immediately. “Then I’m going to trust you. Because Calliope, you had a choice and you chose me. You chose us.” She shrugged, dimples popping as she smiled sweetly. “That was the beginning of the end of me being hurt. The woman I love loves me too. You divorced George, you’re with me, we love each other. What do I have to be hurt about anymore?”

Callie blinked, smile growing slowly. “So I could have moved in months ago?” Arizona just grinned and Callie said, “I guess I’ll break my lease?”

“Sounds like a good idea,” agreed Arizona, already craning up to kiss her, feet pushing her up the couch and into Callie’s lap. “Especially since you spend every night over here anyway.” Callie leaned over to meet her lips, sucking on her tongue without hesitation while Arizona moaned into her mouth.

Alex returned and retook his seat on the other send of the couch, paying no attention to the fact that the two women sharing the sofa with him were kissing. “Torres, you moving in?”

“Yep,” Arizona answered him in a gap for breath, sitting up slightly for better leverage, easier access. She didn’t resist burying her fingers in black hair. She adored Callie’s hair. It was soft and smooth and felt like silk under her touch.

“Is this what I have to look forward to every night now?” Alex asked, one hand up to shield his eyes from the sight of his mentor and friend making out with her girlfriend.

“Probably,” the blonde gasped, laughing as she hauled Callie in again.

He sighed, free hand plucking popcorn from his bowl and shoving it in his mouth. “I need a TV in my room,” he muttered under his breath, trying to focus on the screen instead of the show on the other side of the couch.

Arizona reluctantly let Callie go, flopping back into her lap. She and Karev had lived together for a long time now but she’d never had a girlfriend move in. If he’d rather they not make out on the couch (all the time), she decided she could try and respect that. Callie’s fingers slipped under the bottom edge of her shirt the second the thought crossed her mind, lightly tracing circles on her skin.

Well, she could give restraint a shot. She did have a hot, hot, oh so hot girlfriend, though. He’d have to understand if she slipped up occasionally.

“I have a TV in my room,” Callie said, winking sideways at Arizona as the blonde made herself comfortable, back against the armrest and lower body spread across Callie’s lap. Part of her was still amazed that they could feel so good together - that anything could feel so perfectly simple, and good, and home.

Alex took the bait, grumbling, “Goody for you, Torres.”

“Well, I don’t like having a TV in the bedroom,” Arizona offered her opinion helpfully. “There’s so much better stuff to do in bed than watch TV.” Callie matched her playful, almost wicked, smile while Karev grimaced.

“Dude, you know I hate hearing stuff like that from you.”

Callie laughed, eyes rolling. “I still think there’s something wrong with a guy who finds nothing interesting in having two hot girls make out in front of him.”

“There’s nothing wrong with not wanting to watch your boss make out with her girlfriend,” Alex shot back.

“I have to say I’m fine with Karev not watching us,” Arizona chimed in. “We have a bedroom for a reason.”

“And I can’t have my TV in there?” Callie asked, teasing.

“Sorry, babe.” Arizona didn’t really sound apologetic. “I want you focused on me.”

They exchanged winks, Alex still dutifully keeping his eyes on the television. “I guess I could put it in storage.” She paused for a moment , dragging out the teasing. She knew Alex would never ask to use her TV as an alternative to putting it in storage, she would have to mention it. “Or Karev, you could put it in your room. Since I won’t be using it.”

Just as expected, his sideways glance was simultaneously guarded against the idea of accepting supposed charity and eager to have a TV in his room. But, of course, the first impulse of denial was the one he went with. “I don’t need your pity TV, Torres.”

“Oh, she’s not giving it to you for free,” Arizona countered, knowing exactly how to deal with her protégé. “Consider it payment for all the boxes you’re going to be hauling.”

He grumbled, but Arizona grinned, pleased with her success. “Thank you, Karev,” Callie said, deliberately sweetening her tone.

“Whatever.” He slouched on the couch, feet up on the coffee table. 

The women couldn’t help exchanging smiles as he wordlessly put the bowl of popcorn on the cushion between himself and Callie. She reached over just as quietly and plucked up some popcorn, offering the handful to Arizona.

It took Callie a few days to get any time to start packing up, though once she got started the process was relatively quick. Since her move to Seattle she hadn’t spent enough time here to make it feel like home, spending most of her time with Arizona or at Arizona’s house, so the packing didn’t get bogged down in sentimentality. Fleeing Miami, the majority of the things she’d brought were clothes, not wanting to drag memories of George and her old life with her to Washington.

The furniture had all been bought since she’d moved and could be disposed of just as easily. Maybe Alex would wash her car for a new mattress? She’d rather he have it if it was something he could use. Arizona had everything at her house already so there was a lot of stuff she no longer needed. The question was if she should put it in storage or get rid of it entirely. Thinking about it brought up questions of the future that she didn’t know how to answer.

A knock on the door prefaced Arizona’s entrance, Karev a few steps behind her and carrying pizza. “I figured you’d have forgotten to eat,” the blonde said in greeting, accepting a kiss to the cheek. “What are we going to do with all this stuff?” she asked, looking around at the scattered furniture.

Of course Arizona would cut straight to the issue, knowingly or not, Callie reflected, sighing. “Um, I guess I could get a storage unit…”

Arizona shrugged, shoulders bobbing. “If you want.” Suddenly, her expression was a knowing smirk. “I don’t see the point of that, though. Seems like a waste of money to me.” She grinned. “I figured it out faster this time, Calliope. I’m in this. You don’t need a contingency plan. And you don’t need to keep spare furniture. I mean, if you like it and want to put it somewhere in the house, that’s different. But don’t keep it because you think you’ll need it if we break up and you move out.” She stepped closer, arms sliding around Callie’s hips. “I’m not letting you go. If you’re moving, I’m coming with you.”

Smiling, Callie put down her packing tape and slipped both arms over the blonde’s shoulders. “Alright then, Karev, do you need any furniture? Take whatever you want.”

“Seriously?” Without thinking, he looked intrigued then he regained control of his expression. “I’m good.”

“We can figure out an exchange program,” Arizona assured him, rolling her eyes. “Maybe I can actually get you to cut the grass for once.”

Callie nodded, smiling reassuringly. “If you want it, help yourself.”

“Sweet!” Alex crowed, extending one arm for a fist bump. “You rock, Callie. But don’t hold your breath on the mowing the lawn thing. It’s not like it’s a giant chore. You can handle it.”

“I’ll do it,” Callie offered, speaking up to stall the argument she could see coming on Arizona’s face. “What?” she questioned at the surprised look they both gave her. “I can push a mower!”

Arizona’s surprised look was decidedly different from Alex’s, her jaw dropping. She couldn’t say that the image of Callie pushing a mower back and forth across the yard was an image she disliked in the slightest, her mind filling in hopeful details like a tank top and shorts to make the fantasy (because that’s what it was now) all the better.

“Babe?” Callie prompted when Arizona didn’t respond further.

Alex grinned, bumping Callie with an elbow as he carried the pizza boxes to the kitchen island. “Dude, I think she’s drooling.”

He was right, Callie noticed. Her girlfriend did look to be dangerously close to drooling, blue eyes growing darker as she watched. “Apparently she has a thing for lawn mowers?” she guessed teasingly, Arizona snapping out of it to swat her arm lightly.

“I do not have a thing for lawn mowers, Calliope!”

Laughing, Karev helped himself to a slice of pizza, folding it and biting it in half. Callie was surprised he didn’t choke. “She just has a thing for you and lawn mowers,” he said around his mouthful.

“So I’ll mow the lawn and you can wash the car,” Callie bargained, laughing herself as Arizona’s jaw slacked again. “Or maybe Arizona wants to wash the car?”

Arizona snapped out of her haze again, pinching Callie’s sides before she slid out of her girlfriend’s arms and snagged a piece of pizza for herself. “Alex can do it, but if I see scratches in my paint, I’ll put you with Stark.”

“Harsh, boss,” he shot back, both of them ignoring Callie’s fond smile at their teasing. “Where can I start, Torres?”

She pointed him toward the bedroom. “There’s a hand-truck in there and that room is all boxed up, so whatever you can get, I appreciate it.”

“We borrowed Owen’s truck,” Arizona informed her with a cheerful grin. “What can I help with, beautiful?” Callie considered the clutter, trying to think of what she’d been doing when Arizona and Alex had arrived. “You know, this is kind of like reversing our second date,” Arizona commented, looking around herself.

“It kind of is,” Callie agreed thoughtfully, looking around her apartment. That had been a good night. “Hey,” she called, drawing bright blue eyes back to her. She tossed a spare roll of packing tape to her girlfriend. “How about when we get this stuff home, we recreate our first date to celebrate me moving in?” she proposed, Arizona’s response stopped by Alex wheeling a load of boxes through the living room, but the look in her eyes made her answer clear.


	13. Chapter 13

The sound of the doorbell was barely audible over the salsa music Callie had blaring in the kitchen, dancing while she cooked, but she checked to make sure nothing would burn and shimmied her way down the hall to get the door. Arizona and Alex had been stuck at the hospital for the last two days dealing with a set of premature triplets that had been born with all kinds of problems. Supposedly they were coming home tonight and she’d wanted to do something nice for them.

She wasn’t expecting company, though.

It was drizzling when she flipped on the porch light and she could see the mist through the light. The older couple that she found outside was smiling politely, not appearing to be bothered by the soft rain.

“Hello,” Callie greeted them with a smile herself as she opened the door. “Can I help you?” There was something about the woman’s smile that was very familiar and it took her less than a second to place it. “Oh my God, you’re Arizona’s parents!” Dimples popped as the woman grinned and Callie stepped quickly out of the doorway. “Please, come in out of the rain.” Realizing that she was inviting them into their own house, she laughed nervously. “Of course, this is your house, so that’s - you don’t need me to tell you to come in…”

“You must be Calliope,” Arizona’s mother said as she entered, her husband hauling a suitcase in behind her. “We’ve heard so much about you, dear.” She greeted the other woman with a hug, Callie’s eyes wide as she returned it. “And we’ve interrupted dinner… so sorry.”

Stepping back, Callie waved that off. “Oh no, please, I’m actually still cooking. Arizona and Karev aren’t home from the hospital, so I was gonna treat them to a home cooked meal.” Mrs. Robbins shrugged out of her coat and Callie was quick to take it from her, hanging it up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t… Arizona didn’t mention that you were coming…” Callie offered apologetically. “There’s going to be plenty for dinner if you’d like to stay.”

“Arizona doesn’t know that we were coming into town,” Mrs. Robbins said almost gleefully. “We’re retired. We like not having a schedule anymore.” Her husband scoffed quietly and she put an elbow in his side. “Well, some of us don’t mind it,” she corrected herself while Callie smiled. She could clearly see the affection Arizona’s parents had for each other. It was what she wanted to have with Arizona in forty years. “Oh, dear, where is my mind? We haven’t even introduced ourselves. I’m Barbara and this is my husband Daniel.”

“The Colonel,” he added, Arizona’s blue eyes scrutinizing her from his expression.

“Oh-okay, Colonel, sir,” Callie said, offering a hand to shake. The Colonel didn’t seem much like the hugging type. He nodded at her firm grip, seeming pleased. Or at least she hoped he was pleased. Arizona had told her that her father could be intimidating, but she’d more or less laughed it off. Obviously she needed to reevaluate. “I’m Callie. Arizona’s really the only one that calls me Calliope.”

“Very nice to meet you, Callie,” Barbara said kindly. “If you’ll give me a few minutes to get traveling grime off of me, I’d be happy to help you in the kitchen. And if there’s anything around the house that’s broken, you tell Daniel and he’ll fix it.”

Callie blinked in surprise, smiling. “Oh, well, Alex fixes most of the little stuff. I think the only thing he hasn’t been able to get to yet is the compressor on the ice maker. We have the part, but Peds has been a bit overrun the last few days so Alex hasn’t had time.”

The Colonel was already rolling up his shirtsleeves. “Toolbox?”

“Under the sink, sir,” Callie said. “Oh, but we can,” she tried to interject as he started toward the kitchen, “we can do it…”

Barbara hooked Callie’s elbow with one hand, smiling as she watched her husband leave. “Oh, dear, just let him go. He likes helping.” Patting Callie’s arm, her dimples were clear. “And if you don’t mind the intrusion, I’d love to help you with dinner. It smells delicious.”

“That would be great. Thank you.”

“Maybe I could make dessert? Arizona’s favorite is my peach cobbler.”

Callie grinned. “That sounds wonderful, but I don’t think we have any peaches.”

Barbara patted her arm again. “We picked up ingredients on the way.”

“You know your daughter very well,” Callie observed, smile not slipping even as her stomach tightened with old, familiar pain. Her own mother had never been so involved in her life, even before her disastrous coming out and subsequently being cut off from her family.

The look in Arizona’s mother’s eyes was almost knowing and she hugged Callie’s arm. “Well, now I want to learn more about someone who’s so very important to my daughter.”

“Um, learn more?” questioned the Latina, confused. “What do you know?”

“Oh, please, my dear, you’ve been all my little girl talks about for months now,” Barbara said with a laugh. “I’d love to hear more firsthand.” She released Callie’s arm and gestured toward the stairs. “Just give me a moment.”

Callie nodded, distracted by the idea that Arizona had been talking to her parents about her. Of course, if her parents spoke to her Arizona would be all she could talk about too. But had she told them about how royally she’d screwed up, told them about the marriage? They clearly knew that they lived together, not surprised to see her answering the door, but what else did they know? She had a feeling that if he knew she’d been married to a man while still dating Arizona, the Colonel’s greeting wouldn’t have been nearly as cordial as it had been. She assumed his reaction would be more like her own father’s reaction would have been - someone against the wall with a hand around their throat.

Unconsciously rubbing her neck, Callie returned to the kitchen, checking her meal in the oven. Barbara seemed to know where everything she needed was in the kitchen, which wasn’t so weird once Callie thought about it. It had been her house at some point. The Colonel had already pulled the fridge forward and out of its nook between the cabinets and was on his back behind it, paying no attention to the women as they cooked.

And while she cooked, Barbara Robbins talked. She talked about Arizona and her brother Timothy, about the various places they’d lived around the world. Callie answered her questions, talking about her time in the Peace Corp, her job at the hospital, a few of the cases she and Arizona had worked together, as well as her research.

The fridge was back in place, ice maker repaired, and the cobbler was in the oven by the time they heard the front door opening again, Arizona calling a greeting, “Honey, we’re home!”

Callie and Barbara exchanged smiles and the older woman nodded her toward the hall. Arizona grinned as Callie appeared, though her exhaustion was plain to see. “Hey, gorgeous. How’re the triplets?” She greeted her girlfriend with a quick, casual kiss.

“We had to do an emergency procedure on one of them, but she’s going to make it. And the other two are stable,” Arizona answered her, gratefully shrugging out of her coat and slumping into Callie’s side, the brunette wrapping an arm around her.

“Dude, did you cook? Because I’m starving!” Typically, Alex cut through his own relief at finally being home and went straight for the smell of dinner in the air.

“It’s on the table and dessert is in the oven,” Callie said, giving him a smile. He cheered as he dropped his own jacket over the banister and shook the rain off of his head.

Callie moved to follow him toward the kitchen but Arizona stopped her. “You’re awesome,” she said quietly. She turned them, stepping forward and pushing Callie back gently against the wall. “Dinner might have to be reheated, though…” Her suggestion was clear, made clearer by Arizona’s soft, dragging kisses down the side of her neck. She didn’t bother to lower her voice, Alex knew how they were, knew she’d kick his ass if he ate all of the food.

Callie’s throat went dry and her mind blank. “You’re not too tired?” It was a ridiculous question to ask. Arizona’s body was pressing her into the wall, lips sucking lightly on the rapidly increasing pulse in her neck. She clearly wasn’t too tired. But they just as obviously couldn’t skip dinner with her parents to tear each other’s clothes off. 

Of course, Arizona didn’t actually know that her parents were there. In the kitchen. Probably listening.

Arizona shook her head without lifting her mouth. “Nope. Not tired. Hungry.”

The growling words against her suddenly overheated skin made Callie’s knees weak. Surely the Robbins wouldn’t miss them for ten minutes. They could be quick, right?

Then Alex cleared his throat from the doorway. “Dude, stop making out.”

“I don’t want to,” Arizona answered him, one hand sliding over the side of Callie’s neck that she wasn’t orally exploring.

“Whatever. I think your folks might want to talk to you, though.” He left with a shrug, the door between the kitchen and hallway swinging behind him.

It took a moment for the words to sink past the haze of arousal, but when they did Arizona stiffened then jumped, leaning back to look up at Callie. “Did he say my parents? Did the phone ring?”

Callie swallowed hard, trying to force moisture back into her mouth. “Um, no, they’re here, actually.”

Arizona backpedaled quickly, stumbling over her own feet. “I’m - what - here? They’re here?”

“In the kitchen,” Callie confirmed, smiling. “Your mom helped me with dinner. And your dad fixed the ice maker in the fridge.” Wide blue eyes blinked at her and Arizona dashed off, leaving Callie to catch her breath and make sure her knees weren’t going to drop out from under her. Then her girlfriend was calling her into the kitchen and she joined the group, Arizona sliding an arm around her waist.

“You guys have been here having the inquisition with my girlfriend for how long, exactly?” Arizona asked, pinning her parents with a look.

Callie glanced at both of them, biting her lip. Alex was clearly already familiar with them, sitting at the table with Barbara and scooping food eagerly onto his plate. “That’s how you address your parents?” the Colonel asked, tone playful with his daughter.

“It is when you’re trying to scare my girlfriend away, old man,” Arizona shot back, laughing.

He answered her laugh, standing up to pull a chair out for her. “Who’s scared?” he joked and Callie fought the urge to raise her hand in answer.

Arizona’s blue eyes rolled and she sent a look up at Callie. “Did he introduce himself as ‘the Colonel?’” Reluctantly, Callie nodded, Arizona gleeful with her success. “You need some new tricks, Pops.”

“Hey! You want him to try harder to scare me?” Callie objected, leaning over to grumble into her girlfriend’s ear.

Arizona pulled her down into the chair beside her, the Colonel taking the seat at the head of the table, leaving Callie and Alex on either side of him. “You’re not going to run away, are you?”

“Don’t be stupid.” Callie rolled her eyes. 

Arizona gave her father a triumphant look, arching an eyebrow in victory at the Colonel. “See? You gotta step it up!”

He just shook his head, smiling at his daughter. “You’ve gotten sadly distrustful, my dear. Maybe I like Callie.”

Arizona just scoffed confidently. “Of course you do!”

“Okay, let’s eat!” Callie cut in, starting to feel a bit embarrassed by the focus on her. At least Arizona’s father had said he liked her. That was her highest expectation for the night, glad that hearing Arizona proposition her in the hallway hadn’t hurt her standing.

“Thank God!” agreed Alex, shoveling a bite of rice into his mouth.

“What’s for dinner?” Arizona asked, sniffing the air appreciatively. “Because it smells like my two favorite things.” Happily, Arizona reached forward and uncovered the baking dish. “You made my enchiladas?!” Without the slightest bit of self-consciousness, she used both hands to hold Callie’s face and kissed her slowly, deliberately dragging it out. “You’re awesome,” she murmured, taking another quick kiss. “Thank you.” Alex mockingly gagged, ducking away as Barbara swatted the back of his head. “And thank you, Mom.”

“For hitting Alex or for the cobbler in the oven?”

Arizona practically melted into her chair. “Both,” she sighed. She moaned appreciatively around her first bite of homemade enchiladas, her favorite meal. “So, what are you guys doing here?” she asked after she swallowed, taking a sip of her water. Calliope liked to cook spicy.

Barbara smiled, shrugging. “You told us all about Callie here, but you’ve been hiding her from us.”

Arizona rolled her eyes, poking up another bite on her fork. “You could have just said you wanted us to visit, Mom.”

The older women answered her with a matching eye roll. “Because your first vacation with your girlfriend was going to be visiting your parents?” she asked incredulously. “Callie’s lovely. She deserves somewhere nice.”

Suddenly feeling shy and embarrassed, Arizona blushed, seeing Alex smirking at his plate. “Mom…”

“And of course we have to check on Alex.” It was his turn to duck his head, hurriedly cramming an overly large bite of enchilada in his mouth, though he coughed on the spices. “And like it or not, it’s your birthday tomorrow, Arizona. You couldn’t have thought that we were going to just skip it.”

Arizona groaned, grumbling under her breath and shooting a glare at her father. “What? You got away with it last year. You couldn’t have expected more than that,” he answered her wordless accusation.

“Wait,” Callie interjected, surprised. “It’s your birthday tomorrow?” Arizona didn’t say anything, gnawing on her lip without a word. “Why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday?!”

Alex cleared his throat. “Don’t take it personally, Torres. She doesn’t tell anybody.”

“I don’t like my birthday, I don’t celebrate it,” Arizona said, tone pointed at her parents. Her voice softened when she turned her eyes to Callie. “Calliope, I promise, it’s not… I don’t tell anybody.” She grimaced. “Are you mad at me?”

“You weren’t going to tell me it’s your birthday?” Callie asked, unable to help feeling wounded.

Narrowing her eyes at her mother, Arizona deliberately sat forward and scooped another enchilada onto her plate and covered it with the tinfoil that had previously covered the baking dish. “Touch these and you’re a dead man, Karev.” She took Callie’s hand, standing up. “You, come with me.”

She pulled them into the living room, pushing Callie by her shoulders to sit on the couch. Hesitating for only a second, she dropped herself onto her girlfriend’s lap, legs straddling her. “Arizona…” Callie started warningly, not eager to have any good opinion she’d managed to garner from her lover’s parents go up in smoke because they were in such a compromising position.

“No, you need to listen to me,” Arizona cut her off with two fingers on her lips as she shifted herself closer on her knees. Her chest brushed against Callie’s as she took a deep breath. “I love you. That’s the first thing. That’s always the first thing, okay? I love you. And I wouldn’t hurt you for the world. I don’t celebrate my birthday because I don’t like my birthday. I think it’s pointless, and stupid, and I don’t see the point in making a fuss about it…”

Callie frowned behind her fingers, confused. “You’re worth making a fuss about,” she said seriously, dragging the hand off of her mouth. “People should have one day where people make a fuss about them.” She squeezed Arizona’s fingers. “Because there are a lot of people that think you’re pretty awesome.”

Sighing, Arizona shook her head slowly, cautiously smiling. “I get that. I just don’t like them. They’re just days, like any other days.”

“Okay, well, you’re not going to do it for you, you’re going to do it for me,” Callie countered, lifted eyebrow brooking no argument. “Because you being born means that I get to be this happy, so we’re celebrating.” Her hands settled on her girlfriend’s hips. “And because your parents are here.”

Groaning, Arizona closed her eyes. “My parents are insane,” she sighed. “I’m so sorry they just showed up like this - I would have warned you if I’d known they were going to do this…”

Callie laughed herself, dragging a hand across her girlfriend’s cheek. “It’s okay. I’m glad they’re here. I wouldn’t have known it’s your birthday otherwise. And I’d have felt like a jerk if I’d missed it. I want to celebrate you.”

Arizona’s shoulders slumped in surrender. “Fine, but you owe me,” she bargained petulantly.

Callie gave her a light slap on the butt and leaned up, Arizona automatically leaning into her in response. “Of course,” she whispered her agreement. “The only question is if that counts as your birthday sex or not…” Arizona froze for a heartbeat, breath hitching in reaction. “You didn’t think you might get extra sex on your birthday?” Callie asked, voice lilting teasingly. “Oh, but I forgot. You don’t actually like your birthday. So you don’t care about something stupid like birthday sex…”

Arizona captured her lips firmly instead of speaking, Callie’s hands on her hips pulling her in closer. The blonde growled into the kiss at the feel of hands palming her butt, Callie using the grip as leverage to stretch up and keep herself in the kiss. They breathlessly separated as the oven timer went off in the kitchen. “Birthday sex is not stupid, Calliope,” Arizona panted, taking another kiss.

“Girls, dessert is ready if you want to eat some dinner while it cools down enough to eat,” Barbara called from the doorway, not appearing fussed in the slightest to see her daughter sitting on her girlfriend.

“Okay, Mama, we’ll be right there,” Arizona answered her. “Don’t let Alex take all the corner pieces!”

Callie was catching her breath and she grinned up at the woman still in her lap. “So, what? Have you never told one of your girlfriends about your birthday? Or did you just date girls that didn’t give you birthday sex?” she asked cheerfully. “Cause, I’ll tell you, if they didn’t, they suck. Or is that why you don’t like your birthday - you forgot about birthday sex?”

Arizona gave her a mock glare as she climbed reluctantly off of her lap. “I don’t normally have girlfriends on my birthday,” she admitted, shrugging her shoulders as she offered her hands to help Callie to her feet.

“Well, if I’d known, I might have waited and made your enchiladas tomorrow night,” Callie said. “Do you have another favorite I could make?”

“Oh, no, don’t worry about it, babe.” Arizona waved it off without thinking and got a cleared throat in warning. “I mean, how about we go out?”

Barbara gave them a smile as they returned to the kitchen and retook their seats, Alex already helping himself to seconds. “That would be alright,” Callie agreed. “Can we call Teddy and Owen?” She could insist that Arizona submit to a birthday dinner with her parents, but if she really didn’t want their friends to know that it was her birthday, Callie wasn’t going to push. “I’ll tell them we’re just going out since your parents are in town.”

Muttering, “You owe me,” under her breath, Arizona nodded. “Yeah, that would be great.”

Thankfully, Barbara carried the rest of the dinner conversation and claimed tiredness shortly after the meal, dragging the Colonel upstairs with her after they each said their goodnights. Alex was quick on their heels, claiming that he wanted to watch some TV in his room.

Callie was obviously walking on eggshells once they were alone and Arizona sighed. “I’m not like the birthday Grinch or something, Calliope.” Brown eyes met hers hesitantly. “I agreed to dinner. I’m not going to be all grumpy because you insist on showing me how much you love me.” She grinned cheerfully, moving forward to wrap her arms around her girlfriend. “As a matter of fact, I think I’m going to insist you start showing me that now…”

Callie let herself be pulled along toward the stairs. That was never an opportunity she’d turn down.


	14. Chapter 14

“Did we have to come here?” Callie asked as she went through the doors of Joe’s, grinning sheepishly when she got a look from the proprietor on the other side of the counter.

Arizona, much too cheerful, answered promptly, “Yep. Because you all insisted that it was my choice. And I choose Joe’s!” He sent her a wide smile from behind his bar, eyes narrowing at Callie again. “Cheer up, Calliope!” Arizona ordered as she moved to push several table tops together for their group. “Or suck it up, your choice. But if I have to be here and be perky, then so do you!”

Callie rolled her eyes. “I’m never perky, Arizona,” she reminded her as she dropped her purse in a chair and went to help her girlfriend.

The Robbins filed in behind them, Barbara just rolling her eyes at her daughter’s choice of venue for her birthday dinner while the Colonel merely smirked and shook his head. Alex and Cristina slipped in and joined Arizona at the tables, sliding onto their stools. “Are the rest of your friends meeting us here?” Barbara asked, counting out chairs in her head against the list of guests her daughter had told her.

“Yeah, they’ll show when they get off work,” Arizona said easily, waving toward the bar. If she was doing this, she was going to drink. “Joe, could we get the first round?”

Callie and the Colonel collected their glasses from the bar and brought them back to the table. “Here you go.”

Arizona rolled her eyes at the paper umbrella her girlfriend had put in her wineglass. “Cute,” she murmured, bumping her with an elbow. “Real cute.”

Callie smirked, passing a menu to the Robbins. The others were in the bar enough that Joe was familiar with their usual preferences and the bartender was quick with a batch of mozzarella sticks for the table. 

Meredith and her husband Derek were the next to arrive, waving to Joe as they entered. Meredith didn’t even touch a chair before Cristina was pulling her out toward the jukebox, the heart surgeon thinking nothing of snatching a dollar from Derek’s open wallet. “Derek Shepherd,” the tall, black-haired, Neuro god introduced himself. “And my wife, Meredith Grey.”

Arizona introduced her parents politely, shaking her head as a fast-paced song started from the machine behind her, her two former roommates squeezing back past the tables to jump around in the middle of the room. There were other patrons in the bar but they didn’t care.

“Very nice to meet you.” Derek nodded, sipping his customary scotch. “Arizona must be happy that you’re here. Whenever my mother comes to town I can’t hide fast enough,” he confessed with a laugh, shooting a smile at the glaring Peds surgeon across the table, Callie laughing into her own red wine.

The Colonel laughed, blue eyes twinkling. “Arizona’s been very… gracious,” he agreed, clearly choosing his words wisely.

“Yeah, after Torres threatened to hold out on her,” Alex scoffed, not ducking fast enough when Arizona swatted the back of his head.

“That is not what happened!” she protested, taking another sip of her wine. “Joe, could I get the buffalo chicken pizza?” She slid off her stool and pecked a kiss to Callie’s cheek. “I’m going to dance.”

“Dude, that’s totally what happened,” Karev insisted to Derek, rolling his eyes.

Callie just shook her head as Teddy entered. “Hey Teddy.”

The Robbins turned at the name, clearly familiar with their daughter’s best friend. “Mrs. R! Colonel!” she greeted them happily, taking a seat with them. “How have you been?”

The small talk was easy and comfortable, Meredith, Cristina, and Arizona dancing wildly just beyond the table. Owen joined them, chatting with the Colonel and Teddy about their mutual history in the military while Callie and Alex argued quietly over who was going to end up cutting the grass that weekend.

Arizona returned just as they were deciding to settle the issue with a drinking contest, the blonde sneaking a hand in to steal the shot glass from in front of Callie. “Karev, stop trying to get my girlfriend drunk. Calliope, come dance with me.” Throwing back the shot herself and taking Callie’s hand, she pulled her toward their impromptu dance floor, throwing both arms around the Latina’s neck when Callie promptly dipped her.

“Are you having fun?” Callie asked as she pulled her back up, the blonde laughing giddily. “I know this wasn’t what you wanted to be doing tonight.” Adoring blue eyes were bright with happiness. Deny it all she wanted, but it sure looked like Arizona was having fun.

“Oh, what I wanted to do tonight, we’re still doing,” Arizona promised with a dimpled grin, eyebrows bobbing playfully.

“Even if you’re only doing it for me, you look like you’re having a good night.”

Arizona’s arms looped around her neck drew her in, kissing her quick and hard. “I am having a good night,” she agreed. “As long as no one mentions the b-word and I get to keep drinking and dancing with you, I’m good.”

Callie’s eyes rolled patiently. She couldn’t really argue with that, could she? And it was Arizona’s birthday. Just because she wasn’t eager to share that fact with everyone else, at least they weren’t at home watching TV on the couch. “Dance with me, dance with Cristina, Meredith, everyone else in the bar, seems like you’re up for a variety tonight,” Callie teased lightly, spinning Arizona out and then back into her arms.

The blonde’s hands reached behind her to grip her lover’s hips, shimmying her butt back into Callie’s front. “Really, Calliope? I dance like this with everyone?”

Spinning her back around, Callie was grinning. “Not if they want to walk out of here,” she promised. “And not if you want to walk straight tomorrow.”

Almost dizzy with the images that that sent through her head, Arizona rose up on her toes to kiss her again firmly. This woman was going to be the death of her. There was every chance that this would be her last birthday if this kept up. But she wouldn’t stop it either. Possessive Callie was hot as hell. And it was her birthday. The payoff from this could only be spectacular.

They only stopped dancing when Joe whistled that Arizona’s pizza was ready, the blonde practically skipping back to the table and pulling Callie along behind her. Teddy greeted their return with hugs and a fresh round of drinks. The Peds surgeon ate a piece of her pizza in what seemed to be two seconds before she was dragging her best friend back out to dance, Callie shaking her head fondly while Alex pushed a shot glass to her to resume their abandoned drinking contest.

“Bring it, Karev,” the Ortho surgeon said confidently, finishing her wine while he poured their shots.

Barbara interceded before things got to be too much, letting them each take two shots before she sent their glasses back to the bar. “I don’t think anyone want to hear either of you throwing up all night,” she reminded them wisely. She nodded toward Arizona still dancing and sent Callie a smile. “She really is happy to be out tonight, no matter what she says.”

Callie smiled, watching her girlfriend goofing off. “Good.” She didn’t look away from the sight of Arizona jumping and spinning to the fast paced music. “Do you know why she hates her birthday so much?”

Shaking her head, the other woman sighed. “I wish I did, Callie. It’s just always been one of her things. Of course, when she was a little girl she liked them for the presents and the cake and everything, but once she got into high school she just stopped and never got it back.”

“But she’s so happy,” Callie reminded her unnecessarily, catching a smile from her girlfriend across the room. Even at the birthday party she didn’t want, she couldn’t help smiling. “She’s so happy about everything, but she doesn’t get excited about her own birthday?”

“That’s just how she is, Torres,” Alex chimed in, now nursing a beer. “You’ll get used to it.” He shrugged, his own eyes focused on Lexie Grey at the counter. “She never forgets somebody else’s birthday,” he added as though that was what was important about how Arizona thought of birthdays.

“Which gets you what?” Callie questioned sarcastically.

He grinned at her knowingly. “Normally a solo surgery and some good whiskey.”

“She’s a good girl,” Barbara said, leaning her head against her husband’s shoulder, the Colonel not listening to them, still swapping stories with Derek and Owen.

Arizona sent a glance in their direction a moment later and Callie slid off of her tall stool just as the song changed to something slower and the blonde crooked a finger at her, drawing her in. Teddy just smiled as she stepped aside.

“Can I have the next dance?” Callie asked, offering her hands.

“You can have all the dances, Calliope,” came the cheerful answer.

Arizona’s arms slipped over Callie’s shoulders and curled behind her neck, fingers playing with dark hair. “So, are you having fun?” asked the brunette with a soft smile.

“I guess so,” she hedged reluctantly, not wanting to admit that she really was grateful that Callie and her mother had insisted they go out. A smile grew slowly on her lips as she caught sight of her father standing up from his seat to offer his hand to her mother. “Calliope, look.”

Turning them so she could see, Callie smiled. “Aww, your parents are so cute.”

Arizona exchanged fond smiles with her mother, Callie leaning back to meet her eyes. “You’ll still dance with me when we’re super old, won’t you?” she asked teasingly, getting a sharp swat from Barbara.

“We’re so super old we might just forget that we’re not allowed to mention the occasion for this little event, darling,” the elder Robbins told her cheerfully, displaying the dimples she’d given her children.

The Colonel laughed. “You should have known better than to mess with your mother. We can still hear, you know.”

Arizona glared playfully at her parents, clearly fond of them. “It’s a miracle, old man!”

Callie wisely spun them away from the older couple before they could retaliate, exchanging grins with Barbara. “I’m glad your parents came to visit for your birthday,” Arizona hissed to cover the sound of the word, “They’re sweet.”

“They came to meet you,” the blonde insisted. “The b-word is inconsequential.”

Brown eyes rolled in disbelief. “Oh, right. They came to Seattle, not to see their only daughter for her birthday, but to meet me…”

“Their only daughter’s girlfriend,” Arizona added pointedly. “And they like to check in on Alex. They know he’s trouble,” she said with a wicked grin.

Callie laughed. “Your mom broke up our drinking game but I would have totally won.”

“Don’t you guys drink competitively at home?” Arizona wondered curiously, shaking her head as they danced.

“You always come in and interrupt us.” Shrugging, Callie dipped her girlfriend, scattering kisses across the top of her chest. “I end up going upstairs with you and Karev declares it a forfeit.”

Considering that, Arizona laughed. “I don’t think I can argue with that outcome,” she decided, feeling warmth radiating through her. She was having more fun than she’d expected (mostly because no one knew the occasion for their night out) but she wasn’t going to admit it. Not that she seriously thought she could hide it from Callie. Not that she thought she could hide anything from Calliope.

“Yeah, I’m not complaining,” agreed the brunette. “Believe me, I’m happy to lose.” She caught sight of the Robbins dancing again and she smiled. That’s exactly how she wanted to be with Arizona in forty years. She could almost see it in her mind. “Do they pop in on your brother like this too? When he’s around, I mean.”

Arizona laughed, nodding. “Oh yeah, they do! It’s my mom’s favorite thing to do to us.”

“Well, I think it’s sweet.”

Understanding, Arizona stepped in so their bodies were closer, rising on her toes to kiss her softly. “Calliope, my parents love you.”

“They just met me yesterday.”

“So what? I love you and I never shut up about you,” countered Arizona. “And now that they’ve seen how happy you make me, they love you. And Tim’s going to love you too.” She brushed her lips against a soft cheek. “I’m so sorry about your family though. I know it’s not the same for you to get approval from somebody else’s parents. But for what it’s worth, another few days around you and my parents will love you more than they love me.”

It earned her a scoff, an eye roll, and a smile. “Whatever. Moron.”

Arizona faked outrage. “Hey! It’s my birthday and this is how you talk to me?!”

Further protest was cut off by a slow kiss, their swaying dance stilling as Arizona answered the kiss in the middle of the floor, fingers lacing through Callie’s hair. She sucked a full bottom lip between her own, Callie’s arms tightening around her waist to hold her against herself. It wasn’t a passionate make-out in the midst of their friends at the bar, but simply a steadying, comforting reminder of what they meant to each other. No matter who she’d lost, she still had Arizona. And no matter how much Arizona didn’t want to acknowledge it herself, there were people who loved her and wanted to show her, first among them Callie.

Blue eyes opened slowly as the kiss separated, taking a few blinks to focus. “Talk to me however you want as long as you kiss me like that,” she decided, buzzing a little on the feeling of the kiss, Callie’s body against her. She glanced around slowly. “Hey, I really appreciate all of this, the party and everything, but maybe we could go home?”

Callie nodded, spotting Joe put a pizza box on the bar with a knowing wink. She pointed it out with a smile, heart beating faster when Arizona gave the bartender a dimpled grin. God, she was beautiful. “We definitely should,” she agreed, waving to the Robbins as Arizona darted to retrieve her leftovers. Alex would get the older couple home safely. Or, more likely, Barbara would drive him and the Colonel home safely. And possibly Teddy, who was starting to sway in her chair as she kept up with the military men drink for drink.

“Pizza in bed?” Arizona proposed as she reappeared at her side with the box, wide, hopeful smile on her face.

Callie couldn’t help kissing her again, a quick kiss on those grinning lips. “You read my mind.”

They kissed the whole way up to the front door, up the stairs, and into their bedroom, Arizona ending up on top of her girlfriend in the bed, dropping the pizza box to the floor. It would be there later when they wanted it. She wanted to work up an appetite first, though. Sitting up on Callie’s hips, Arizona dragged her up with her, tugging the black shirt Callie wore up and off. She needed skin. And as much as she’d complained about it, it was her birthday and she was going to cash in on some of the hot birthday sex Callie had promised her.

“Where do you want me?” Callie asked against her lips, nipping at her bottom lip and squeezing her butt simultaneously.

Arizona answered immediately, not needing to think, “Right here, but no clothes.” Callie’s hands moved to lift her up from where she was sitting on her, stripping off her clothing without losing her smile. Arizona’s eyes were dark with need and she swallowed hard, her voice hoarse when she spoke. “I should have said I wanted you to do that but in slow motion and on me,” she declared, not blinking as she surveyed her lover naked beneath her.

Callie leaned up on her elbows to trace kisses up her chest, her neck, her jaw, to meet her lips. “You want a lap dance?” she asked, voice husky and completely unselfconscious. “I can get dressed again,” the Latina offered willingly. She would be more than happy to push Arizona’s buttons like that but she had a feeling that the blonde had something specific in mind tonight that didn’t involve her stripping to tease her.

“No,” Arizona denied softly, head tilting to kiss her again, the contact soft and light. Drawing a breath in through her nose, she let her tongue explore the familiar recesses of her lover’s mouth slowly. Callie sat up further, touch wandering across her chest, stomach, and around to grope her ass. “Pants. Off,” Arizona ordered between deep, dragging, drugging kisses.

It took some doing, Arizona temporarily letting herself be dumped onto her back so Callie could push the pants free. As soon as Arizona had resumed her position of sitting over Callie’s bare hips the brunette whipped her shirt over her head without prompting, the bra following it to the floor. Arizona laughed when she heard it hit the cardboard pizza box on the floor.

“What next?” Callie asked, Arizona on her knees to be taller, forcing her to crane up to keep kissing her. She would do anything it took to keep kissing her. In answer, Arizona’s hand snaked in between them, fingers splitting Callie’s wet lips. The other hand pushed her down onto her back gently through light pressure on her chest.

Then Arizona’s hips were shifting, lowering into place against her and she thrust herself lightly against Callie’s core. The heat, the wetness, the friction of clit against clit, was fucking unbelievable and Callie’s eyes fluttered closed before she forced them open. Because if this was how Arizona wanted it, she was going to watch every single second of her girlfriend riding her like this.

“Oh shit!” Arizona moaned after the first thrust, Callie’s hands on her hips coaxing her into another, helping her set a rhythm. “Can you come like this?” she requested breathlessly, her own eyes still closed as she tried to absorb every sensation. She really could learn to love her birthday if it got her this. Or at least parts of her birthday. This part of her birthday. The hot, hot, smoking hot sex with Callie on her birthday. She could definitely get to love this part.

Callie gasped and grunted as Arizona leaned over to kiss her and changed the angle of contact between them. She had to fight the urge to laugh though. Arizona freaking Robbins was on top of her, making love to her, and she wanted to know if she could come? “Yes,” she ground out, pulling her lover’s hips into a stronger push against her. It would take longer than it usually did to reach orgasm in this position, but Arizona was rocking into her center. She would absolutely get there.

Gasping her agreement, Arizona’s head fell back on her neck as she sat back up, bracing her herself on her hands while her hips were in Callie’s strong, capable grip. “This is fucking incredible, Calliope,” she breathed, feeling sweat beading at the back of her neck. “Harder, a little harder,” she requested, moaning wantonly when she felt Callie’s hips rise to meet her next thrust while the hands on her hips picked up their pace eagerly.

Their centers were both soaked, juices mixing between their thrusting bodies, but it wasn’t enough. Arizona could feel her orgasm building with every stroke, every touch of Callie’s fingers against her overheated flesh, but she wouldn’t go over without more. “Calliope, she pleaded, eyes opening to find her lover below her. 

Knowing what she needed, Callie sat up without disturbing their rhythm. “I’ve got you,” she promised. The kiss was deep and slow, tip of her tongue tracing the edges of Arizona’s panting lips before she finally connected them, Arizona moaning and melting into the touch - exactly what she’d needed to meet the edge of her pleasure. Below the waist, Callie planted her feet flat on the mattress and pushed her hips up hard and held, feeling Arizona’s body tighten, shudder, and come, the cry of release screamed into Callie’s mouth. Feeling the edge of her own orgasm, Callie’s hands held Arizona’s hips in position while she jerked her body upward into a final few quick, hard thrusts against the blonde’s pubic bone before she came herself.

Flopping bonelessly beside Callie, legs still tangled together, Arizona struggled to catch her breath, slow her pounding heart. Callie followed her, leaning up on one arm to brush hair off the back of her sweaty neck and kissing down her spine. “How was that? Was that what you wanted for your birthday?” she asked, clearly pleased and smug. She didn’t need an answer - she knew exactly how Arizona felt about what they’d just done because she felt it herself.

“That was fucking awesome, Calliope,” Arizona declared breathlessly. She smiled against the sheets when the kisses kept going down her back. Then hands guided her hips up, coaxing her knees back under her. “What’re you doing?” she asked, smiling and nuzzling her head deeper into the pillow she dragged under her head.

“Oh, I’m going down on you,” Callie answered matter-of-factly, tone making it clear that it should have been obvious. She settled herself between her girlfriend’s legs, her center hovering over her face. “Is that okay with you?” she questioned happily, leaning her head back to catch a glimpse of Arizona’s smile.

Arizona just moaned her contented agreement. She freaking loved her birthday. It was all she could do to hold back a shriek when Callie started humming ‘Happy Birthday to You’ into her core while she drank up every bit of her she could get. She most definitely loved her birthday after this. At least the sex part of it.


	15. Chapter 15

Callie fumbled with her key in the front door, the cold weather making it stick, but it finally popped open and she could hear Arizona’s voice as soon as she entered.

“You’ll see,” Arizona declared confidently. “She’s awesome.” She sat up to look over the screen of her laptop as she heard Callie come in. “Calliope, you’re home! Come here!”

She was clearly excited and the Latina hung up her jacket and moved toward her girlfriend. “What’s up?”

“She’s coming! Hold your horses!” Arizona said, Callie frowning as it seemed like she was talking to the computer she had just put on the coffee table.

“Um, babe, are you talking to the computer?”

“No!” a new voice said, male and clearly amused. “She’s a crazy person! Run for your life!”

Arizona laughed, shaking her head. “No, I mean, yes, I’m kind of talking to the computer. But really it’s my brother. He wants to meet you!” Callie’s steps across the room faltered and she unconsciously ran both hands over her hair, attempting to fix unseen issues. “Oh, stop that. You look gorgeous,” Arizona said, waving her in. “You’ll see, Tim. She’s totally hot,” she said confidently.

“Arizona!”

Blue eyes just blinked innocently at her. “What? You’re hot, Calliope. It’s not like I’m lying to him.”

“You do know I live in the desert with a hundred and fifty men, right?” Tim chimed in from the computer. “If she’s as hot as you say, you’re probably just trying to torture me.”

Arizona scoffed. “She’s at least as hot as I said! Baby, come here and meet my big brother,” she coaxed. “Please? I’ve been bragging and he says I’m full of shit.” She pointed into the camera. “I know Mom and Dad backed me up, though. They love her!”

“Seeing is believing, little sister,” Tim countered reasonably. “Let me see her.”

Callie listened to the siblings bicker with a fond smile. She’d been right - it was startlingly similar to how Arizona and Alex were with each other. “Okay, I’m coming,” she agreed, running one more hand through her hair. Taking a seat on the couch beside Arizona, she smiled at the man on the screen. “Hi, I guess. I’m Callie.”

“Some call me… Tim,” he replied, adopting a goofy voice and quoting Monty Python. He had his sister’s dimples but his blonde hair was dark and sandy in color and his eyes were brown where Arizona’s were blue. But he was just as good looking. The Robbins siblings had surely broken many hearts. Women of wherever they lived, beware. She could only imagine how it was when they were together. “Okay, you’re right, she’s very beautiful.”

Arizona rolled her eyes, familiar with her brother’s favorite joke and completely unconscious flirty nature. “You’re an enchanter all right,” she muttered sarcastically. “Come on, dude, she’s my girlfriend!”

“Dude?” he questioned. “Is Karev still hanging around? Has he tried anything? Because I’ll kick his ass!”

That made them both laugh. “No, Tim. Alex doesn’t ‘try anything’ on me because he knows I’m a lesbian, and his boss, and I have a girlfriend.”

“Who would also kick his ass,” Callie chimed in. She genuinely liked Alex, but if she thought for a second that he would try anything on Arizona, she’d hit him with a brick.

Arizona elbowed her gently, but Tim grinned, clearly pleased. “That’s what I’m talking about! Somebody sniffs around your girl, you gotta knock ‘em out!” he declared, demonstrating by punching a fist into his other hand.

“Okay, stop it with the macho bullshit,” ordered Arizona, eyes still rolling. For some reason, what was annoying from her brother was incredibly hot from her girlfriend.

“You wanted us to meet, let us talk,” Tim countered, smiling at Callie. “So I hear you went home with my sister but you were still married to some guy… What’s that about?”

“Whoa!” Arizona interjected, eyes going wide. “No! We’re not - I’m going to kill you!” she hissed at the screen. “We’re not talking about that, Timothy!”

“I say we are,” he said, clearly not worried by his sister’s wrath. “Callie?”

“You told him about that?” the Latina questioned her girlfriend, surprised.

Arizona shrugged sheepishly, biting her bottom lip. “I don’t have any secrets from Tim.” Her eyes rolled at the camera. “Though, clearly I should!” He just shrugged unapologetically. “Calliope, you don’t have to - you don’t answer to him…”

Callie shook her head gamely. “No, it’s okay. Tim, I was separated from my husband whenever I met Arizona. We’d been separated for months - three times as long as we were even married. He cheated on me and I left him.”

“And was my sister a rebound for you?”

Arizona groaned her brother’s name, but Callie put a hand on her leg to calm her. “Absolutely not.” She glanced sideways with a smile. “We might not have started dating in the most conventional way, but I love your sister. I’m divorced, Arizona and I live together, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“Dad likes her,” Arizona interjected. “And I like how we started dating!”

“Of course you do,” countered her brother, his eyes rolling. “You got drunk, took a hot girl’s clothes off, and then she showed up at your work the next day and asked you out. And Dad liked Joanne, so….”

Arizona’s jaw dropped. “I know you didn’t just say that name to me, Timothy Michael Robbins!” Her voice was abruptly cold and he was already grimacing apologetically, realizing he’d crossed a line. Callie was instantly curious but held her tongue. Clearly, the subject of this Joanne was one Arizona didn’t like. “And as I recall, you liked Joanne more than a little bit yourself!”

Oh, Callie reflected quietly. That’s how it was. Damn… She rubbed the top of Arizona’s thigh soothingly, back and forth over the denim of her jeans, watching the muscles in her jaw clench and relax. She hated to think it, but when it wasn’t directed at her (and sometimes even when it was) angry Arizona was hot.

“Arizona, I’m sorry,” Timothy offered meekly. “It was high school, and I will never say that name to you again, I swear. I’m sorry. It’s great that Dad likes Callie. And you love Callie. That’s what matters.” Both siblings straightened as their last name was yelled in the background on Tim’s side of things. “Shit, I’ve got to go, but we’ll talk soon, okay?” Arizona just nodded, still fuming at her brother. “I love you, sis.”

“I love you too,” she answered. Even angry, she wasn’t going to end the call without saying it. “Be careful.”

He gave her a cocky grin and a wink. “You know it.” His eyes, brown like their mother’s instead of blue like their father’s, shifted to Callie. “And very nice to meet you, Callie. Take care of her, alright?”

She nodded, suddenly hoarse. “Yeah, of course. Nice to meet you too.”

The video cut out, the monitor going back to displaying the program’s logo, and Arizona pushed the screen down and shut the computer. She was quiet as she leaned back into the couch, Callie’s hand still on her leg. “So, that was my brother Tim,” she said finally. “The jerk.”

“Hey,” Callie called, turning her head with one hand. “I’m glad I got to meet him, sort of, on the computer, or whatever.” Arizona just grumbled, still petulant. “Hey, I think it’s sweet that he wants to meet your girlfriend.”

Arizona gave her a questioning look. “Do you want me to meet your family? Because I’ll do it…”

Callie just laughed, shaking her head. “No. I wouldn’t do that to you.” Even when her sister was speaking to her, she could be a bitch and she told Arizona so. “It’s better this way.” The blue eyes she loved still looked doubtful. “Trust me, babe. I could not be happier that your family likes me, but…”

“You think your family wouldn’t like me?”

“I think my family doesn’t like me,” Callie corrected her. “At least not a big, important part of me. If they could get their heads out of their asses, they would love you. Because you’re amazing. And you make me happier than I’ve ever been in my life. But they won’t,” she shrugged, “They gave up on me a long time ago, Arizona. Long before I met you.” A frown crossed her girlfriend’s pretty face. “Don’t look like that,” Callie requested with a sigh. “They don’t want to know us, that’s their loss. Because we are awesome.”

Arizona leaned into her, her head finding its place on Callie’s shoulder, arm curling protectively over her waist. “We are awesome,” she agreed, voice quiet. “It’s totally their loss, but I’m happy to know you.”

Callie wrapped an arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head. “Let’s talk about something else,” she said. Somehow a good day had become full of intense personal conversation topics. They talked, but discussing being cut off from her family wasn’t something she wanted to do while Arizona was still so clearly annoyed after her brother’s misspeak.

“Okay,” Arizona agreed, still quiet as she squirmed into Callie’s side.

Before either one of them could come up with a topic Alex stomped down the stairs. He took in their quiet appearance, sensing something in the atmosphere. “You guys okay?” He leaned in the doorframe, arms crossing his chest. “Do I need to kick somebody’s ass?”

Callie chuckled, leaning her head against Arizona’s. “No, Karev, thanks anyway, though.”

“Why’re you both all moody, then? Is it that time…?”

“Oh my God,” Arizona muttered, feeling Callie’s lips twitch against her forehead. “Alex…”

He smirked, ducking his head to hide it. “I was going to pick up some Chinese,” he said. “You want some? I could grab some tequila from Joe’s too.”

Arizona traced a question mark on Callie’s side, not looking up at her. She was still frustrated with her brother, sad for Callie, stunned that her family couldn’t see how miraculous their daughter was. Suddenly, getting drunk with her girlfriend and her roommate sounded completely perfect. “My credit card’s in my wallet,” she answered him. “Want to split some Lo Mien, Calliope?”

“Perfect,” Callie murmured, kissing the side of her girlfriend’s head. “Can we get some rice too?”

Arizona smiled, nodding against Callie’s shoulder. “Of course. Karev, my girl wants rice and Lo Mien.”

He nodded, arms still crossing his chest. “I’m on it, boss. Gotta keep your girl happy.”

“Damn straight,” Arizona declared. “Put some gas in your car on my card since you’re going to pick it up.”

“Thanks.” He found her wallet in her purse hanging on the base of the banister and was out the front door, the rumble of his vintage Camaro audible from inside.

Callie sighed, taking a deep breath and holding it. “You do make me happy,” she said softly as she let it out. “Happier than I’ve ever been…” If Arizona didn’t know that she would cry. She’d never felt anything like she felt with Arizona. Her happiest moment with George didn’t hold a candle to even a casual moment with the woman in her arms.

Arizona didn’t answer, didn’t have to, she just nestled closer.

They hadn’t moved when the front door opened and Alex returned, his arms full of bags. He didn’t bother with the kitchen, unpacking on the coffee table instead. He handed the carton of fried rice to Callie, the Lo Mien to Arizona, and rounded the couch to collect three shot glasses.

Callie smiled when her plastic fork collided with Arizona’s over the rice, playfully bumping her girlfriend’s hand away. Arizona retaliated with a laugh, stabbing for the noodles only to have Callie intercept her, hands tussling while they both laughed. Arizona managed to get noodles spiraled around her fork, but instead of eating them herself, she offered them to Callie, other hand cupped underneath the fork to keep sauce from dripping on either of their shirts. Callie took the bite, and a kiss on the cheek, and smiled. The tension that had been lingering in each of them since their conversation with Tim and the talk after was finally relaxing.

From the other end of the couch, Alex gagged into his own dinner, rolling his eyes. “If you’re going to do the scene from ‘Lady and the Tramp’ with some noodles, let me know so I can go hurl.”

Callie grinned over Arizona’s head. “Aww, Karev, I have no idea you were a ‘Lady and the Tramp’ fan.”

He just snorted, stabbing a piece of chicken out of his own carton. “Please. I’ve just lived with your girlfriend for five years. I’ve seen all those Disney movies whether I liked it or not.”

“You liked it,” Arizona shot back. “Nothing to be ashamed about, Alex.” Teasingly, she carefully maneuvered a single noodle to drape over the tines of her fork. She wiggled her eyebrows at Callie. “Lady?”

Callie rolled her eyes. “Moron,” she answered her, the word tinged with affection.

Narrowing her eyes, Arizona slurped the noodle up herself. “Fine,” she declared after she swallowed. “No noodle kiss for you, then.”

“Thank God,” Alex muttered.

The Ortho surgeon shot him another look, leaving her fork in her box of rice and using both hands to hold Arizona’s face, drawing her in and licking the sauce from her lip with deliberate slowness. Arizona’s mouth dropped open to suck in a breath and Callie took the invitation, kissing her slowly. Fingers slid over a pale cheek and into soft blonde hair. 

She loved kissing Arizona. There was nothing like it. No one else she’d ever kissed even came close. Arizona was it for her. She knew it and she prayed every day that Arizona knew it too. Hands came up to frame her face, Arizona as unable to resist touching her as completely as Callie was unable to keep her hands to herself. The grip in her hair tightened and she dimly heard a throaty groan escape.

“I’m drinking,” Alex declared loudly, twisting the cap off of the tequila and pouring himself a generous shot. He hissed as he swallowed it, squeezing his eyes closed. One hand swatted at Arizona’s shoulder. “You guys make out later. Shots now.”

The blonde pulled back from the kiss to growl at him, one hand shoving his hand away from her. “Fine, pour the shots, Alex.” Her eyes were apologetic, but Callie waved it off, smiling and shaking her head.

“Don’t apologize for kissing me like that,” she whispered, leaning in to breathe the words into her girlfriend’s neck.

Arizona laughed, taking the shots from Alex. “You kissed me,” she corrected her, voice just as soft as she handed Callie one of the narrow glasses. 

The shot glasses belonged to her parents, one of the few things that had traveled with them around the world - their collection of shot glasses ever expanding with her mother picking up new ones wherever they went. Now that they were retired, the collection stayed in Seattle with her while they continued roaming the globe. Suddenly Arizona remembered what her mother had said about taking Callie somewhere nice. It needed to happen sooner rather than later. Or it needed to happen sooner and then could happen again later. Either way, it needed to happen soon…

“You kissed me back.” Callie raised one eyebrow and threw back the shot, coughing as she swallowed the liquor.

Arizona whooped out loud as she tossed back her own, shaking her head furiously. Callie’s grin was cocky and Arizona gasped for another, leaning forward to offer her glass to Karev. Her girlfriend was gorgeous, absolutely stunning, breathtaking. She definitely deserved a nice vacation. If she remembered any of this when she woke up the next morning, she’d have to make sure and talk to the Chief about some time off for the two of them.


	16. Chapter 16

Arizona was busy on her laptop on the sofa when Callie came down the stairs fresh from the shower and with a new book. “Hey, gorgeous,” she greeted her, dropping a kiss on her cheek as she went around the couch to flop into a chair with her book. “What are you doing over there?”

“Comparing ticket prices.” Fingers clicked on the keys as she kept her attention on the computer while Callie sent her a thoughtful look over the edge of her book.

When no more details were forthcoming, the Latina asked, “Tickets for what?”

Arizona grinned, enjoying having a bit of intrigue. “Something my mom said when she was here.”

“Run?” Callie guessed, smirking when that earned her a sharp glance.

“No, Calliope,” Arizona shot back. “She said you deserve a nice vacation.” And she wanted selfishly to see her beautiful girlfriend on a beach in a bikini somewhere. Spain and Fiji were her personal choices right now, but she’d happily give the final choice to Callie. She’d already investigated their time off with the Chief. “We could take four days in two weeks but if we wait until the end of the month we could take a week.”

Callie just blinked chocolate eyes at her, her mouth dropping open in surprise. “You want to take a vacation together?”

She sounded so shocked that Arizona’s fingers hesitated on their keys. “Um, yes? Do you… not want to?” They’d been together now for eleven months, living together for four of them, and she’d just assumed…

“What?! No! I want to go! I definitely want to go away with you!” Callie corrected herself, dropping her book on the chair and moving to join Arizona on the couch, snuggling up to her side and resting her head on Arizona’s shoulder so that she could see the screen. “So, where are we going?” she asked eagerly. She silently prayed for an opportunity to see her sexy blonde lover in a bikini, possibly even on a beach. She missed the beach. Seattle was lovely, but she missed the hot Miami sun. It was the only thing she missed about Miami and that was only rarely.

“I want to go somewhere where you wear very little,” Arizona chimed in with her opinion. “I want a beach, and you in a bikini, and sangrias.” She shrugged lightly, biting her lip at the mental images her imagination provided. “Do you have a problem with that?”

Callie laughed, snaking one hand under her girlfriend’s elbow to play with the hem of her shirt, fingers flicking idly against the edge. “As long as you’re wearing one too,” she requested, slipping a hand under the t-shirt for a quick second to slide over smooth, warm skin. Skin she wanted to see under bright sun somewhere.

“You’ve got a deal,” promised Arizona eagerly. “So, I was looking around and my cousin has a timeshare in Fiji that we could use. But the flights to Spain are cheaper, so it’s kind of even either way. You just have to pick one.”

“Me?” Callie questioned. “Why am I picking?”

Arizona’s head turned to plant a kiss to her temple. “Because where the beach is doesn’t matter to me as long as I’m there with you.”

“Arizona, you’re sweet, but…”

“You pick, Calliope,” Arizona insisted. “I’ve never been to Spain if that does anything for your choice. I mean, I’ve been to the US base in Spain, but that’s not the same thing as sexy time on the beach with my girlfriend.”

Callie laughed. “Uh-huh, so you’re telling me that you lived in Spain and never took a girl to the beach? I don’t believe you.”

“We didn’t live there,” she clarified. “We stopped there briefly. I didn’t even get to go to the beach!”

“Well, then we’re going to Spain. Because you need to see the beach,” Callie declared, nodding toward the computer in Arizona’s lap. 

The blonde decisively clicked on the Spanish options and Callie smiled to herself. “Great, so now we just need to figure out if we’re going sooner or-”

“End of the month,” Callie decided quickly. “I can wait for more time in Spain with you.” She bumped her nose against Arizona’s jaw, kissing up toward her ear. 

Arizona’s eyes fluttered closed when lips found her earlobe, Callie sucking lightly. “Calliope…” she started to protest, completely unable to focus when a hand slipped back under her t-shirt. Thank goodness her laptop remembered her credit card information because getting her wallet was impossible at the moment, to say nothing of trying to type all of those numbers accurately while Callie was putting hands and lips on her.

“Hurry up,” Callie pulled back to whisper, teeth nipping at her ear again, the hand under Arizona’s shirt roaming upwards. But the front door opened before she could get anywhere, Alex whistling sharply to snap her out of her lustful haze. Withdrawing with a growl, Callie leaned around Arizona to glare at him. “I hate you,” she said plainly, rolling her eyes as she leaned back against the other arm of the couch and away from her girlfriend.

“Whatever, Torres. You both have good boobs, but I’d rather not get killed for seeing them,” he pointed out reasonably, gesturing to Arizona in evidence when she turned her head to shoot a warning glare at him. “See?”

Arizona finished booking their tickets and snapped her laptop closed, putting it on the coffee table and replacing it with Callie’s feet in her lap. “Hey, we’re going on vacation at the end of the month,” she informed him, leaning her head against the back of the couch to look at him upside down. “So just keep your visitors out of our room,” she requested. “And no sex in Calliope’s kitchen.” She and Alex might have lived there longer, but they all knew it was Callie’s kitchen. The brunette just smiled, crossing her arms behind her head.

“Yeah, yeah, I know the rules,” he said, waving her off. “Where you guys going?”

“Spain,” Callie answered happily. “For a week.”

Alex grinned. “Nice,” he congratulated her, the pair knocking fists as he passed them to get to the laundry room. Arizona just rolled her eyes, completely unconsciously rubbing Callie’s feet gently. “What are you guys doing tonight?”

“You interrupted what we were doing tonight,” Arizona complained, still rubbing her thumbs into Callie’s soles.

“We’ve got a pretty good backup plan now, though,” added Callie, making herself more comfortable and poking Arizona’s hip with a toe. Blue eyes rolled at her again. “You started it. I didn’t ask you to start rubbing my feet.”

Arizona didn’t stop her massage, Callie catching her book when Alex tossed it to her as he took the seat she’d been briefly using. Finding her page in the novel, she went back to reading quietly while Arizona and her protégé discussed a case they’d been working on - a ten year old girl with a pervasive, fast growing, and aggressive tumor in her abdomen.

Working with Bailey and the Chief, it took days to plan the surgery - the tumor wrapping itself around almost every organ in her torso. From all accounts, it was an inoperable tumor. But they were going to attempt to take out six of her organs, clear out the tumor, and then put everything back in. 

It was going to be an intense surgery and the gallery was already crowded when Callie and Teddy squeezed in to watch their friends operate. “You think they’re ready?” Teddy asked, leaning against the wall behind Callie, her height making it easier to watch over her shoulder.

Callie sighed, her arms crossed as she watched them prep, smiling as Arizona looked up at her from underneath her pink scrub cap. “This has been all she and Karev talk about at home. They’re ready.”

“And your vacation,” she added knowingly. She’d listened to her best friend chattering about Spain for days now. “Are you guys ready to go?” Teddy questioned with a smile.

“We still have three weeks, but the hotel and flights are all booked,” answered Callie, not taking her eyes off the OR below.

The heart surgeon shrugged. “If they pull this off, that’ll be a pretty nice reward to look forward to.”

“Definitely,” Callie agreed, her mind instantly supplying a more immediate reward that she could offer her girlfriend. She was going to have to get a new bikini and it would need to be tried on, wouldn’t it? And Arizona would surely appreciate that. “Spain’s gorgeous. Arizona said she’d been to the base there but just for a short visit, I guess. She said she didn’t get to go to the beach.”

“I’ve been, but it was just a quick stop. I spent more time in Germany,” Teddy said thoughtfully.

Callie laughed, glancing over her shoulder at her friend. “Well, I’d invite you with us, but…”

“Oh, thanks, but no thanks,” Teddy said with a laugh. “I have no desire to get on Arizona’s bad side by keeping her from getting sex.”

Smirking, Callie rolled her eyes. “We’re not that bad. And you being there wouldn’t keep her from getting sex.”

“Oh, I know! That’s exactly why I couldn’t be around. I can’t hear that!” declared Teddy, pushing her friend’s shoulder lightly.

A resident hushed them and the two attendings shot disbelieving looks at him, Callie pointing his eyes forward sharply while he sat up straighter in his seat and Teddy laughed into her curled fist. “Are you going to get to watch the whole thing? Because I’ve got a knee replacement in half an hour.”

“You can probably get back to see the end,” Teddy mused. “How fast could they really finish replacing six organs? They’ll be in here all day.”

“You don’t have anywhere else to be?”

Teddy scoffed. “Yang jumped at the chance to cover Cardio for the day. She’ll page me if something comes in. I’m watching this.”

Callie caught Arizona’s eyes again as she lined up in her place at the table across from Bailey. She couldn’t see half of her face, but could read the nerves in her eyes before Arizona’s coolly professional, hardcore surgeon mask dropped into place. “You got this, baby,” Callie mouthed silently, seeing the smile crinkle the corners of her girlfriend’s eyes. “I gotta go,” she said reluctantly, edging around Teddy. “If you can get a seat in a few hours, save me one.”

“You got it,” Teddy promised.

She made it back in time to watch them replace four of the organs, though it was still standing room only in the gallery, every resident in the hospital eager to watch the groundbreaking surgery going on in the OR below them. There was a touch-and-go moment where they thought the kidneys weren’t going to come back after they’d been replaced, but they worked it out, the gallery bursting into applause as everything abruptly stabilized.

Arizona’s eyes were bright as she looked up to find Callie, her smile visible even through her surgical mask. Callie let her own wide, proud smile show. Her girlfriend was amazing. Incredible. Awesome, even.

As they closed, Callie nudged Teddy lightly, leaning over to whisper to her. “Hey, I’m going to go home, so tell them they did great for me, okay?”

Teddy blinked, hand on Callie’s arm keeping her in her spot. “What? You’re seriously not going to stay and see her after this? Seriously? With the way you two go at it after big surgeries? Arizona just had one of the biggest surgeries of her life and you’re going home? Seriously?!”

“I have something else in mind,” Callie said, smiling to herself. “Just tell her I’m at home.”

Teddy was still shocked, disbelieving. “I guess that’ll keep the people in the third floor hallway innocent for a little while longer. But you have to know that Arizona’s going to be driving like a bat out of hell to get home.”

Callie’s eyes narrowed. “She better drive safely or I’ll kick her ass,” she promised seriously. “Tell her.”

“I’ll tell her,” Teddy agreed, clearly still confused.

The front door slammed open just as Callie poured the wine a half hour later, the Latina hearing her girlfriend’s shocked intake of breath as she slid to a stop in the kitchen doorway on her wheels. “Oh my God.” Her throat was dry. She might never swallow again, she decided. And then the drooling started and she mentally reevaluated. “Calliope, you look…”

Clearly the red bikini had been a good choice. It had always been a good color on her. “Congratulations, Arizona. You did it! I’m so proud of you!”

Arizona kicked off her wheelie sneakers, moving slowly toward the other woman. Her eyes were locked on her lover’s form, drinking in the sight of all the warm olive skin on display. “You’re not wearing clothes,” she said dumbly, shuffling forward a few steps. Callie was holding wineglasses but Arizona clearly wasn’t paying attention to that. “In our kitchen,” the blonde added. “You’re not wearing clothes in our kitchen.”

Callie smiled, nodding. “It’s my bikini,” she clarified. “Just trying it on. For our vacation.”

Arizona moved close enough to touch, fingertips dragging over tanned skin. “You have underwear that covers more,” she observed stupidly. Her brain might never come back from this. Spain was going to kill her. Between the sun and Calliope, she was simply just going to melt.

Looking down at herself, Callie smirked, turning from side to side to check herself out. She knew she looked hot. “I have another -”

“No!” Arizona barked sharply, eyes still wide. “Not complaining, here. Just observing.” She finally blinked, appearing to snap out of it somewhat. “Wait, what if Alex had come home with me? He’d have seen,” her hand gestured down the length of Callie’s delectable body, “all of this.”

“So?” questioned Callie, still smirking. “It’s not like I’m naked, Arizona.”

“So?!” the blonde demanded. “No ‘so?’, Calliope! I don’t want him seeing you like this!”

Chuckling, Callie put a wineglass into her hand, curling her fingers around the stem. “So, just to be clear, do you want me to bring this to Spain, or not?” She took a sip of her own wine. “Because I’m pretty sure there will be men in Spain, babe.”

“I’m going to need to take bricks on vacation with me!” Arizona cried, gesturing toward her again. “You’re too hot, Calliope! And you’re definitely taking that to Spain.”

Callie clinked her glass against Arizona’s, smiling sweetly. “You did so amazing today. I’m so proud of you.”

Arizona’s dimples popped as she grinned excitedly. “Thank you. And I was glad you were there.” She narrowed her eyes a moment later. “But then Teddy told me you went home and I was confused.” She took a sip of her own wine, her favorite white, of course. When Callie was good, she was good. “I thought you might not want to celebrate the way we normally do when we rock a surgery.”

Brown eyes just rolled. “Don’t be ridiculous. Would I be wearing my bikini in the kitchen if I didn’t want you to get me naked? I even made it easier for you, less clothes for you to take off and all.”

A blonde eyebrow rose as Arizona stepped closer, one hand reaching behind Callie for the wine bottle. “Oh, you think I can’t handle layers, Calliope? Because I pulled off a pretty impressive surgery today, remember? I’ve got a lot of skills!”

Callie grinned, bobbing her eyebrows back at her. “Well, let’s see them then, baby!”

One hand carefully held her glass and the bottle, the neck laced between her fingers, and the other hand hooked through the string of fabric between Callie’s breasts. “You’ll feel them,” she promised, Callie following her quickly to keep from having her top torn off right there in the kitchen.

It was torn off just inside their bedroom instead, Arizona tossing it aside to cup a breast in her hands. “Baby, the wine…” Callie warned her, Arizona shoving the bottle and glass into Callie’s free hand so she could touch the other breast.

“Your body is fantastic,” Arizona gasped, burying her face in between warm flesh and kissing, licking, and sucking everything she could get her lips on. “I love it,” she carried on, shifting her mouth to suck on a nipple.

Callie could only push the cork back into the wine and drop it on the foot of the bed, praying that it wouldn’t leak, and drain the last bit of her wine from the glass before they followed the path of the bottle and landed with a bounce on the comforter. Arizona loved her curves, worshipped her breasts and stomach and hips, which made her love them too. Because when Arizona looked at her, it was clear how she saw her, how much the sight of her, exactly the way she was, fascinated her. “I love you,” she breathed in response, chest arching into Arizona’s mouth, freely letting her take whatever she wanted.

Stumbling backwards, they fell into the bed, Callie pinned under Arizona. The blonde head moved to the other breast, swirling her tongue around a second tight nipple. Callie lifted her hips to kick off her bikini bottoms but Arizona lifted her head unexpectedly from her task. “What are you doing?” she questioned, blue irises darkened by want.

“Um, getting naked?” answered Callie uncertainly, not sure why removing clothes had gotten Arizona to stop what she was doing.

“Leave them,” Arizona requested, kissing her lips quickly before trailing her mouth back down to her chest. “I can work around them,” she said, nuzzling between heaving breasts, Callie’s breathing short and hard under her. “I need to practice for when I fuck you on the beach,” she continued, smiling against tan skin when that garnered her a needy, wanton moan. “You can be topless, but no way in hell am I letting your bottoms come off outside of our room.”

Callie arched into her lover’s body over her when Arizona’s hand slid between her legs, wiggling to coax her thighs apart. And true to her word, Arizona didn’t pull the bikini bottoms off, just shifted them aside so she could thrust inside her. “Oh God,” she groaned. “Oh fuck!” Arizona seemed content with a slow, deep, plunging rhythm that was backed by her hips while her tongue and teeth and hot mouth attended to Callie’s chest. “You’d really let me go topless?” Callie asked when she could speak, surprised by that announcement.

“What?” Arizona asked distractedly, her next thrust hitting harder inside her. This goddess was hers. And no hot Spanish person was going to set eyes on what was going on under Callie’s bikini. “No,” she declared. She delivered a smacking kiss to the top of each breast as her body rocked into Callie’s. “Mine.” She was resolute and she curled her fingers with a wicked grin. “This is mine too.”

“That’s what I thought,” Callie said with a breathless laugh, one leg curling over Arizona’s calf. “So shouldn’t I have left my top on so you could practice working around that?” she asked teasingly, words separated by gasps and grunts as Arizona picked up her pace, spurred along by Callie’s knee against the back of her thigh.

Blonde hair fell in both of their faces as Arizona shook her head. “Nope,” she answered, taking a quick, hard kiss. She was really pounding into her now and it was all they could manage. “We’re alone and I want to see your fantastic boobs moving while I’m fucking you,” she said, knowing the dirty talk would only get Callie hotter.

Sure enough, the next roll of a thumb against her clit sent her over the edge with a gasping groan, Arizona driving into her without relenting. “Oh, oh, oh, oh God, right there,” Callie pleaded, the blonde hitting the perfect spot inside her, her center milking Arizona’s fingers as she came.

Coming down gradually, Arizona coaxed her back to reality with soft kisses scattered across her face and the top of her chest. Callie groaned when Arizona pulled out, the blonde laying on her side beside her and sucking the wetness off of her own fingers with a smug, completely hot, smile of satisfaction on her face. “That was pretty good practice, I think,” she declared breathlessly, clearly pleased with herself. 

Callie rolled to collapse flat on her front on the bed, still breathing hard. She groaned in protest when Arizona sat up, somehow still full of energy. “Where you going?”

“Wine,” Arizona said simply, finding the wine bottle on the end of their bed and miraculously not kicked to the floor. She took a swallow straight from the bottle and eyed Callie’s back, the smooth expanse of olive skin calling to her. The Latina jumped when cool wine splashed between her shoulder blades, running straight down her spine toward her butt. “That was the vacation practice sex, Calliope,” Arizona answered her before she could ask what she was doing. “This is the I rocked my surgery and I’m hot as hell for you sex.”

Callie couldn’t help smiling against the sheet as Arizona’s hot tongue followed the wine down her back and wet lips sucked the liquid from her skin. Damn if life wasn’t good…


End file.
